Bent But Not Broken
by scifugitive
Summary: Complete Sesshomaru finds the strange girl travelling with his brother to be interesting. But, when he finds out how much power he really holds, His strategy changes. No longer does he want her to keep Inuyasha from her power, but keep her for himself.
1. Movement Beyond the Trees

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter One – Movement Beyond the Trees  
  
The forest was abuzz with the same chirps and twitters that always brand Kagome's return to the feudal era. She climbed out of the well and sat down on the cool stone surface. Something felt different. She looked around her, but nothing in the small clearing looked out of place. Still, her senses were heightened with foreboding, and her legs seemed unwilling to move in the general direction of Kaede's village.

So she sat. _Surely someone will come looking for me. Shippo knows that I am coming back today with treats. He is probably bouncing up and down in Kaede's hut right now, driving Inuyasha crazy._ Kagome laughed to herself at that thought. _Yep. I bet he will get Inuyasha to come and get me any moment now. Which is good, because I don't feel right about leaving this place._

A chill went up her spine. She felt as if someone were watching her. She stood up, grabbing her bow and an arrow from her pack as she stood. She searched the ground as well as the tree line around her, but saw no one. _I don't sense any shards, so it couldn't be Naraku. Could it?_ She shivered as she thought about the nasty hanyou. He had tried to kill her on countless occasions. He had had a dark miko possess her with tainted Shikon Jewel shards. He had even started up a tenuous alliance with Kikyou in hopes of killing both Kagome and Inuyasha. She sure did not want to meet him alone in a forest.

But she was sure someone, or something, was watching her. She concentrated really hard and could almost feel the eyes watching her. _I don't feel threatened. Something isn't waiting to kill me over there or it would have come out already. I am alone after all. I just know that I am not alone, whatever it is._ She turned to her left, to the thickest growth of trees. She strained her ears to pick up any noise and heard something move. Something larger than the occasional bird in the forest. Bigger, but also more graceful. It sounded like someone trying to be unheard; soft brush of twigs and rustle of leaves of a carefully placed foot or gingerly moved leg. Her breath stopped. _Something is watching me._ She lifted her bow and pointed the arrow in the direction of the noise. "I know you are there, and I know you have been watching me. So come out." She thought that sounded a little weak so she added for good measure, "Don't make me go in there."

Kagome startled as she saw movement just beyond the first trees of the forest. She squinted towards the movement, trying to make out a figure. "Come out, you coward," she said in her bravest voice. "Quit hiding behind the trees and face me."

The trees made no more movement, and Kagome got bolder. The point of the arrow glowed a bright blue as her courage gathered. She focused her miko powers through months of training, secretly thanking Inuyasha for forcing her to strengthen her burgeoning powers. She again heard a rustle of brush just beyond her line of vision. _It sounded as if someone jumped down from a perch. But they landed so softly...maybe not. _

Just as Kagome could make out a tall figure moving toward her, just behind the trees, she heard another noise.

"Kagome!"

Kagome screamed as the voice called behind her. She whirled around and faced the voice, momentarily unable to recognize it. Before she could stop it, her hand released the glowing blue arrow. She gasped as she realized she had just shot an arrow at..."Miroku!"

"What the..." Miroku barely had enough time to deflect the arrow with his staff as he, Sango, and Shippo entered the clearing near the well.

"Oh, gosh! I am so sorry. Shippo, you scared me half to death." Kagome gave a weak smile. Her knees were still shaking from the movement behind the trees. "Oh!" Kagome quickly turned to where the trees had moved. No more movement. _Damn._ She ran over to the trees and looked. _Nothing Not even a footprint marks the ground for me to follow. It must have been a demon._

Shippo bounded up onto her shoulder, peering into the trees. "Something was watching me. It was right here. I know it was." She looked up a large tree directly in front of her. "It sounded like it jumped down from there when I called for it to come out. But I don't know where it went."

Shippo sniffed the air. "Well, it isn't here now. Whatever it was." He looked cautiously around with Kagome. But, his youthful exuberance quickly overrode his caution and he began bouncing on her shoulder. "What did you bring me?"

Miroku came to stand by Kagome, with Sango walking slowly up to his other side. He frowned at Shippo. "Not now. I feel that a demon presence was here. A powerful one at that." He leaned forward, seemingly to peer into the forest with Kagome and Shippo. "Hmm. I cannot tell which way he went, but..." He placed a wayward hand on her bottom and began to massage it. "I can see that you are distraught. Perhaps a little consolation is in order."

The birds were scared from their perches as two loud slaps reverberated from the group. Miroku quickly walked away from Shippo and the girls with two red handprints on his face. And a little smile.

Sango was the first to speak after that. "Sometimes I think he likes to be slapped. Anyway, Kagome, we came to find you. Shippo was convinced that something had happened to you because you did not come at the break of day with his treats."

"I was on my way when I felt something watching me. I had just gotten out of the well, and for some reason I just could not move. It was like something was compelling me to stay. I can't describe it."

"Well," Shippo said while digging through Kagome's yellow pack "Inuyasha thought coming here was stupid because he knew you were coming. So I came, and Sango and Miroku tagged along." He leaped out of the pack with his prize in hand: a spinning cherry sucker. Bouncing around on the ground, he tore off the wrapper and began to enjoy his treat.

"Inuyasha knew I would come, so didn't even bother to see what was keeping me? Why that dog breath! He didn't even care. I could have been killed by some demon alone out here and he didn't even care enough to see if I was okay. That..."

Just then Inuyasha came bounding into the clearing. _He does care_, she thought. But then she noticed that he was not looking for her, or at her. His eyes were scanning the area and he was sniffing the air. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Sango said for everyone else.

Inuyasha dashed to the very spot where Kagome had seen movement moments before. "He was here all right. This place reeks of him." He sniffed the ground below the perching tree and turned towards the right. "He was waiting here, but what for?"

"Something was watching me up there. I could feel it the moment I climbed up out of the well." Inuyasha turned to Kagome finally, and looked at her strangely. As he still did not answer Sango's question, Kagome repeated it. "Inuyasha, who was waiting here?"

He turned back to the right, where his nose was telling him his prey had gone. "Sesshomaru. He was here. Watching you."

* * *

Lord Sesshomaru took to the skies the moment Kagome's friends had come to the clearing, and shortly before Kagome had tried to shoot Miroku. He knew there was something strange about that girl, and he had followed her from a distance last night as she left the old miko's hut and returned to that sacred well. He saw her climb down into it; the well that the local people had referred to as the Bone Eater's Well. He looked into the well shortly after she went into it. She had disappeared. There was not a trace of her.

He had spent the night perching in a high tree, deflecting his scent from reaching his hanyou brother's irritating nose. He did not sleep, but tried to figure out why that wisp of a girl would jump into a well that eats demons and disappear. _Was she a demon? No. I have picked up her scent several times and she was definitely a human. A miko with a large amount of untapped potential, but definitely a human. So why did she go into the well? Maybe she was the demon eater, the thing in the well that ate the bodies of dead demons. Again, no. I know from experience dealing with her in battle that she was not the sort to do anything like that. She only resorted to violence after incessant pleading and whining had not worked. _So he stayed, sure that she would return from that well.

And she had. He was surprised to see her climb out of that well, but noticed that a brilliant blue flash of miko power emanated from the well shortly before her return. _Interesting. A puzzle that I cannot solve. Yet._ He wanted to find out more, because she seemed to be a weapon that Inuyasha may be able to use against him. But, she had sensed his presence. This again surprised him. Humans did not detect Lord Sesshomaru. But she had sensed it immediately, even if she had not known it was him. She had been afraid at first, he had smelled her fear. But, it was quickly replaced by courage; purposely replaced. _This girl is slowly learning how to use her powers. She could indeed become a powerful weapon in Inuyasha's arsenal. This will never do._

When the girl challenged him to come out by calling him a coward, he had slowly leaped down from his perch, but decided against it when her friends had come into the clearing. He took off to the right, to return to the camp Jaken had set up with Rin and Ahun. He did not want to fight now. He wanted to learn where the girl had gone to. She had definitely gone somewhere, because she returned with a bag overflowing with food and other things. _I will have to meet her when she is more vulnerable. Sometime when she is not surrounded by her associates._ He smiled as he planned a way to do just that.


	2. A Story Unfolds

Thank you to those who have already read and reviewed my first chapter. Especially my first two reviewers, asdf and asdf. I appreciate the accolades and will try to be bored enough at my job to keep you interested (hahahaha.).  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter Two – A Story Unfolds  
  
Inuyasha had slept very little that evening. He spent the entire night outside the hut, alternating between pacing around the front door to scouting the trees for any sign of his brother. He did not know why Sesshomaru had been watching Kagome. And he wasn't at all sure he wanted to find out.

He stopped pacing and sat on the front porch, tired of walking back and forth. _What did Sesshomaru want with Kagome? He knows she is a human, and he dislikes humans. Even if she is a miko, a powerful one, she is still just a human to him. Beneath his notice. Even Kikyou was not worth his bothering._ "Feh! I don't care why he was lurking in Kagome's shadow."

"Did you say something, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha turned and saw Miroku standing in the doorway. Inuyasha turned back around and kicked a pebble back and for the between his feet. Miroku came to sit down beside him. "What is bothering you?"

"What do you think?" He mumbled. _My brother may be after Kagome, and I don't know why. I don't even know if there is anything I can do to stop him._

"Ah. Lord Sesshomaru in the forest this afternoon. Is that it?" He said thoughtfully as he set down his staff, preparing for a manly heart to heart.

"You got that right. What was he doing there, sneaking around in the bushes?"

Miroku rubbed his chin for a moment, trying to act the part of a sage monk. He closed his eyes briefly before reporting. "I have been thinking of this also. Tell me, Inuyasha. What does he know of Kagome?"

"She was with me when Sesshomaru opened our father's tomb. She was the only one who could pull the Tetsusaiga from its place. He tried to kill her after that by melting the walls to envelop her. But she survived. That was when I cut off his right arm. He has seen her on several occasions.

"He has said several times that I demean myself by having her around. He thinks I spend all my time protecting her." _I bet he even knows of the times she has protected me. He would never let me live this down._ He kicked the pebble out into the courtyard.

"So, I am thinking that he is wondering why you want to protect her. After all, she is only a human."

Inuyasha turned to face him, his face turning pink in anger. "Don't you think I know that?"

"Calm down, Inuyasha. I only came out here to help you figure out why he was following her." The two of them sat in silence for a moment before he continued. "Do you know if Lord Sesshomaru knows where Kagome is from?"

Inuyasha's ears picked up as he thought that over. "I don't know. I don't think so, though."

"Perhaps he is trying to uncover her secrets. You have to admit she is a strange girl."

Inuyasha smiled. "True."

"But, I must say I do like the outfits she wears." Miroku smiled at the thought, but quickly amended his statement when Inuyasha threatened him with a fist. "I mean, maybe she has an extra one Sango could wear sometime."

"What I was trying to say was perhaps Lord Sesshomaru was spying on her to try and uncover her powers. It is true that she has strong miko powers. But, so far she has not been able to use them except when she is under extreme pressure. Like when we are fighting demons."

"So you think that Sesshomaru is trying to see if Kagome could be a threat?" Inuyasha got up and began pacing around the floor again. I don't think I like the sound of where this is going.

"I think that it may go deeper than that. Follow me Inuyasha. He knew you were pinned to a tree by Kikyou over 50 years ago."

"Right."

"And then suddenly this girl appears and you are free. Many people have wondered still how she did that. She made the arrow turn to dust. That isn't something that happens every day."

"Right. But everyone knows that she is Kikyou's reincarnation." He rolled his eyes. _Feh, and Miroku is supposed to be a wise man. Feh!_

"How exactly would Lord Sesshomaru know that? It isn't as if we travel in the same circles."

"Well..."

"And, if you add on top of that the way she dresses and the way she talks..." Sango appeared in the doorway, bleary-eyed but ready to join in the conversation. "And the way she acts. Don't forget that. Even when she is scared, she doesn't cower behind Inuyasha. She tries to fight right beside him. And she is getting better everyday." She sat down beside Miroku. Then she thought better of it and shifted herself to the other side of the porch. She didn't feel like hitting him for massaging her behind again.

"Correct, Sango. I think with as many encounters as he has had with you and Kagome, he is beginning to wonder just what he is up against. After all, he is not a demon who will go up against an opponent without knowing his weaknesses. Or in this case, her weaknesses."

"Let me get this right. You think that Sesshomaru wants to find out how to kill Kagome."

Sango thought that over for a moment. "Either that, or find out how to use her against you. He certainly would not be the first one. And probably not the last."

Miroku agreed. "Mmm. I guess then it is a good idea for her to continue her miko training with Kaede. Maybe she should also be learning more physical defensive techniques. Perhaps I..."

"Should not finish that statement, monk. I would be more than happy to help Kagome learn how to defeat demons with weapons, as Kaede is teaching her how with her power."

"Yeah, you do that, Sango. And I will go and face Sesshomaru."

Miroku stood up and put a hand on Inuyasha's arm. "And do what, Inuyasha? Tell him to back off of your girl? You know you cannot defeat him alone."

"Like hell I can't!"

"Inuyasha, Miroku is right. You have only been able to come of at a dead heat with him. And that is when he decides to leave. There have been several occasions when he would have killed you if something or someone had not intervened."

"Well, what do you expect me to do? Just sit and do nothing? My damn brother is stalking Kagome!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down, Inuyasha. The last thing we need to do right now is let Kagome think that Lord Sesshomaru is trying to find her weaknesses."

"You're right, Miroku. Maybe it would be better if we sent Kagome back to her own time." Inuyasha felt slightly depressed at this thought. _Life is so much more interesting whenever she is around. I'll go nuts if she isn't here. _

Sango saved him from his thoughts by saying, "I don't think that that is the best way to go."

"What do you mean, Sango?" Miroku resumed his position beside Sango.

Before she continued, she placed her hand on his arm, smiled, and pushed him back across the porch. "I mean, if Sesshomaru really is trying to find her weaknesses, and he has seen her coming up out of the well, how do we know he won't be expecting you to send her back there? He may not know she is from the future, but he knows she is different. And I will be willing to bet Kirara that he has figured out that the well is how she returns to where she came from.

"I say that we let her stay here. But I mean here, at Kaede's hut. Here she is best protected. With Kaede's and Miroku's spiritual power and our physical powers, this is a fortress of protection."

Miroku caught on to what Sango was saying. "Right. Until we know exactly what Lord Sesshomaru knows and what he wants, it probably would be best for her to stay here with us. Until we know that, she should not leave this village. Or even better, not leave the hut."

"Feh! Easier said than done. Kagome doesn't even stay in one place long enough to eat a whole meal, let alone stay in this hut for who knows how long. How do you intend to do that?"

Miroku waived his hands in the air as if that one detail was not important. "You will think of something, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blanched. "Me! Why me?"

Sango agreed quickly. "Yes, you. Who better to protect her? He already thinks that you protect her. This way he is less likely to think that we know anything."

Miroku's eyes lit up. "Yes. He and Shippo can stay and protect Kagome here with Kaede, and you and I will go and see what we can find."

She jumped on this. "Oh, this sounds like a good idea. We can go to his lands and spy on him just like he has been spying on Kagome. I bet between the two of us we could find out what he knows..."

"Right. We could even try and plant information about her in the villages nearby. Should he hear any of it, it may through him off the scent..."

While Sango and Miroku were planning their grand adventure, Inuyasha went fuming into the forest. He jumped up a tree and sat, feeling every one of his muscles knotting in frustration. _Feh, they want me to play nursemaid to Kagome while they go off and find my brother. How am I supposed to keep her here? She doesn't listen to a word I say!_

Inuyasha spent the rest of the night perched up in the tree staring back at Kaede's hut, wondering just how he was going to keep Kagome safe without letting her know she may be in very real danger.

* * *

Rin was absentmindedly picking flowers while humming her favorite tune. Jaken was holding Ahun's reins while talking about the importance of servitude to his lord and master. But Lord Sesshomaru heard none of it. He was deep in thought, trying to digest the information he gleaned from last night's stakeout.

_I was on to something, watching that girl. She is no ordinary human, that much is true. That well is important. I know it. I need to know how she does it. _The demon lord kept walking beside his entourage, thinking about that well. He knew that it was a sacred well for the village. They place dead demons in the well and their bodies quickly disappear. So does she. _I have heard that when that miko Kikyou died, the Shikon no Tama was burned with her. But Kagome appears and the Shikon no Tama is again found._ He found out also that shortly after her appearance, she had shattered the jewel in a battle with a crow demon.

_She must be a reincarnation of that miko. How else would she have been able to undo the binding spell Kikyou put on Inuyasha? And bring back the jewel. And have all that unused power, with no knowledge of how to use it. That girl was born with all the power that Kikyou spent her lifetime acquiring._ He stopped for a moment at that thought. _If she started with that much untapped power, learned how to use it properly, and acquired as much more, she would be as powerful as a demon. And Inuyasha has control of her._

"My Lord?" Jaken questioned as he almost ran into the back of his master's knees. Rin had kept on walking, and had collected a handful of pretty white flowers before she realized that Sesshomaru-sama had fallen behind. She started skipping in circles back towards Jaken and Lord Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru ignored both of them as he continued to piece together information. "Inuyasha cannot be allowed to continue controlling that girl."

Again Jaken looked up in ignorance. "Did you say something, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Looking down, as if he had not known Jaken was anywhere near him until know, Sesshomaru gave Jaken a withering look. "Take Rin and go to the village where Inuyasha stays. Keep me informed of where they are going and what that miko he keeps with him is doing. I must find a way to separate Inuyasha from his human before she realizes her powers. He is enough of a hassle without her."

"Yes, my Lord," Jaken mumbled as he pulled Ahun along behind him. "Always must I take Rin along with me. Years of faithful service to Lord Sesshomaru I give. And this human gifts him with offerings and suddenly I am her servant..."

Rin ignored Jaken and ran back to Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru-sama! Look what I have for you."

He sighed as he looked down at the flowers she gathered for him today. As he looked down at Rin, he realized how much she resembled Kagome. _That well means something, I know it. Maybe it is a source of her power._ "Give them to Jaken. I have important matters to attend to." With that, Sesshomaru took to the skies to return to the Bone Eater's well. _It cannot be the source of her power if she is truly Kikyou's reincarnation. Perhaps it returns her to where she came from. I need to know where she goes. And how to keep her there. Or kill her._

* * *

Chapter Three coming soon -- "Planning and Waiting"

Jaken and Rin wait near the village for any sign of Kagome separated from the village. Sesshomaru inspects the well for any sign of where she comes from. And Inuyasha tries to keep Kagome cooped up in Kaede's hut...


	3. Planning and Meeting

Second chapter went over as well as the first, thank goodness. I was a little worried about that one. I know that there is not very much of Lord Sesshomaru in that one, but you will need that information to follow the future chapters. This one is more interesting, I promise.  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter Three – Planning and Waiting  
  
The next few days went by fairly uneventfully for Kagome and the others. Inuyasha was bound and determined that the next major demon they fought be Naraku. With this excuse, he did not want to fight anyone else before Naraku, so that when they were face to face, he would be at his full strength. He refused to chase after a water demon plaguing a village two days away from Kaede's village. Sango and Miroku went alone, leaving a fuming Kagome to lay into Inuyasha, and Shippo to tend to the rest of the ramen.

"I cannot believe that you are refusing to come up against anyone other than Naraku," Kagome wailed, as Kaede simmered the mush stew that was to be their dinner that night.

"You don't know what you are talking about, Kagome. Just lay off, will ya'?" Inuyasha was already angry over something tonight, and didn't need to have yet another fight with Kagome. It was obvious even to Shippo, who was too busy polishing off the last of the ramen to interfere in this conversation.

"You! You are always the first one to jump at the chance to fight. Anybody. Even a simple water demon. What's wrong with you?" Kagome planted her fists on either side of her hips as she waited for an answer to her question.

Inuyasha plopped down in the corner of the hut with a loud "Feh!" and sat with his head in his hand. He stared down at the floor and tried to calm down. Shippo sat in a corner, close to Kaede who was still stirring the simmering pot. He wanted to help diffuse the situation, because Kagome was his best friend. _Heck. Even Inuyasha is a friend. Even if he does try to kill me. But he is real mad about something. I am almost afraid to go near him. Not Kagome, though. She doesn't even seem to notice he's upset. Of course, she looks pretty upset too._

"I'm talking to you, Inuyasha. Don't you even care? You don't seem to want to go anywhere lately." She whirled around on one foot and began pacing the floor. "You don't want to go anywhere and you don't want to let me go with Sango and Miroku to help people and fight demons."

He didn't move. He just kept looking down at the floor, and now he was tapping the clawed fingers of his free hand on the floor. _What is wrong with him? I cannot even get him to argue with me. I'm getting worried._ "Well, I am sorry. I am not going to sit around here day after day, waiting for time to pass me by while you do whatever it is you are doing now. The next time we get a call from a neighboring village about something troubling them, I am going."

"No, you're not!" He still did not look up, but his voice held a certain amount of anger in it. Even Kagome sensed that he was really mad this time.

"Yes I am!" She stamped her foot on the floor, and could feel her miko powers rising in defense. "Who do you think you are, Inuyasha? You cannot keep me here. I am not a prisoner. Do you hear me?"

"Calm yourself, child. He means no harm," Kaede said as she started to ladle stew into several wooden bowls. "Perhaps if ye speak to Inuyasha in softer tones, Inuyasha will give ye an answer." She handed Kagome a bowl, gesturing her to sit on the other side of the fire pit.

Kagome just stood there, bowl in hand, looking from Kaede to Inuyasha and back again. _Keh! No one seems to understand what I am saying. Suddenly, we splinter off into pairs? When did this happen? And what's next; Shippo and Kaede take on Naraku by themselves? What is going on?_ With her mind rapidly filling with questions designed to keep her anger at the boiling point, Kagome fairly threw herself on the mat and shoved the chopsticks into the stew.

Shippo passed on the stew, having eaten three helpings of ramen himself, and sat down beside Kagome. He didn't dare touch her, though. She looked like she would strike the first person who did.

Kaede held out another bowl of stew for Inuyasha, but it took a moment of awkward silence before he looked up from the floor to see it. With a loud "Feh!" he grabbed the bowl and started shoving large chunks of food into his mouth. It was the only thing he could think of at the moment. He knew he couldn't talk, because he eventually would spill the beans. _Then she really will want to kill me._

After a little while of the sterile silence, Kaede was the first to speak. "Now, Inuyasha. Tell us why ye are suddenly unwilling to venture forth and fight."

He chewed on that last piece of meat with excruciating precision before answering. "Maybe I just think that some of the things Kagome says about resting up before mortal combat is worth heeding." _Feh! Let's see her argue her way out of this one. _

"Good thinking, Inuyasha," said Shippo. "The last time you fought him without your full strength, you almost died. And now he has a whole host of minions at his disposal. I don't even want to go up against him, and I never get hurt!"

Inuyasha cast Shippo a baleful grimace. "If you went up against Naraku, we would simply never see you again."

Shippo stuck out his tongue at Inuyasha. But, realizing that Inuyasha was still very angry, wisely decided to move a little closer to Kagome.

"See, child. A reasonable answer to a reasonable request." Kaede seemed reluctant to press Inuyasha for a more explicit answer. _Maybe she knows what we planned out last night. I sure hope so, because I know I won't be able to keep her here for long alone._

"Keh." Kagome was not about to buy it for an instant. Something was up, and she was not a part of it. _I hate being left out!_ "Okay, Inuyasha, let's say that I believe you. Then how do you expect us to find Naraku if we never leave the hut?"

Inuyasha just stared at her, unable to think of an answer. It had taken him all night to come up with this one excuse. _And it took her less than five minutes to find a very big hole in it._

"Or are we going to sit here and wait for him to find our base camp?"

"No. We will find him. When I feel up to it." Good one, old boy.

Instantly Kagome's face was contrite. She got up onto her knees and looked closer at Inuyasha. "Are you ill? I don't remember you getting wounded lately?"

He stood up quickly before she could see the beads of sweat on his forehead and give away his lie. "I'm fine. I'm going onto the porch. Stay....here....Kagome." And he quickly made his exit. He was too frustrated to say anymore. As soon as he stepped outside and closed the door, he started to run. _Maybe I can work off my frustration this way. Kagome will be safe with Kaede for a short while._

"Dammit!" She threw up her hands and sat back down on the mat. The outburst made Shippo jump. "What is wrong with him? He only wants to go after Naraku now, but doesn't want to go find him. It makes no sense to me."

Kaede, still sipping up noodles from her stew, said without hesitation. "Inuyasha thinks differently from us, Kagome. He has many things on his mind, and doesn't like to admit when he is wrong. Perhaps he has decided to think before he acts, and is trying to come up with a plan for hunting Naraku before ye go after him."

Kagome digested her words carefully. "I guess that could be it. But why would he not want to just say that? I mean, we are all in this together, aren't we? Shippo and I would gladly help him formulate a plan."

"I know ye would, child. But Inuyasha has always been proud. Ye know this. Remember how long it took for him to accept ye. And to be one of a group instead of a lone demon-hunter. Let him be. His melancholy will not last long."

"But, Kaede, I am so used to going around looking for demons and shards that I am going crazy stuck in this cabin. I don't know how much more I can take." She laid herself out on the mat and put her arm over her eyes. She did not want to think anymore today.

"I think you are forgetting one important factor in all of this, Kagome. Inuyasha is coming up on his new moon. Soon he will be human. It could very well be that he has decided to wait until after then to go after Naraku. That would be the wisest thing to do. Ye wouldn't want to be out there looking for Naraku and be forced to hide from him for a whole day while Inuyasha is human, would ye?" Kaede finished her statement by placing her bowl on the floor with a resonant thud. This seemed to her to be the definitive reason why Inuyasha was unwilling to go after demons now.

Kagome removed the arm from her eyes and looked over at Kaede. _Perhaps she is right. Maybe he is afraid of coming upon Naraku while he is in human form. No, that would mean he has some idea of where Naraku is, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of him for weeks._ Kagome's breath caught in her throat as another answer popped into her head. _What if he is doing it to protect the gang? If we were to go demon hunting again and got stuck in the woods at the new moon, what would stop Naraku from killing one or all of us? Inuyasha feels that responsible for our safety._ "Feh. I still wish he would just talk about his feelings. Just once in a while. Perhaps it would be better if I went home until after the new moon. Then at least he wouldn't have to worry about me."

Kaede thought about that for a moment. "Perhaps ye are right, child."

Shippo bounded into the conversation, safe in the knowledge that Kagome was no longer angry at anyone. "Yeah. You know how protective he is of you Kagome. If you went back to your time, at least he wouldn't have to worry you would get hurt while he was in human form."

She slapped her hands on the floor as if they were gavels. "That is it, then. As soon as I am able to slip away from him, I will go back through the well and not return until after the new moon. Let's see. That is two days from now, so I have to find sometime soon when he isn't watching me."

Shippo yawned. "Good, now let's get some sleep. All this thinking is making me sleepy." With that, he curled up where he was sitting and fell instantly to sleep.

* * *

Sesshomaru emerged from the forest into the small clearing where the Bone Eater's well lay in solitude. He had been high enough in the trees around the miko's village that no humans even knew he was there. He also knew from the villager's incessant chattering that a village several days walk from here had called on the aid of the gallant crew. And that they had left yesterday, so his hanyou brother would not be able to sense him in the area. Not that he was that close to the old miko's hut. He just did not want a confrontation to ruin his plans of undermining Inuyasha. He wanted to learn from the villagers more about this Kagome.

What he had learned from the villager's talk was short in usefulness. The girl had come from somewhere else, but they knew not where. They all regarded her as Lady Kagome, and confirmed his belief that he was the reincarnation of the miko Kikyou. But none of them seemed to know how she came here or why. Apparently they just accepted her presence without question.

Sesshomaru was convinced that she used the well to return home. But he wanted to know where that was. He stood next to the well and peered in. _It is not very deep. Maybe 100 feet._ Very dusty and littered with bone remains of several demons, but certainly nothing impressive. He straightened himself and looked around. There was no device that would aid the human in transportation. _I remember that she simply sat on the edge and jumped in. Then the blue light flashed and she was gone._ He thought about it for a moment, then gracefully vaulted over the edge of the well into the depths. After about two seconds, he landed on the dusty floor. Looking up, he saw the tops of the trees he had been in all day. He had gone nowhere.

He leapt back up and over the lip of the well, coming to stand at the same spot he had occupied moments before. He had done exactly as she had. The only difference was "Her miko powers. Hm, maybe she is stronger than I gave her credit for. This is an unpleasant turn of events. If she is strong enough to transport herself through an invisible barrier that I cannot break through, then she is a possible liability to me."

Turning on his heels, he took to the skies to find a suitable resting place for the night. "She can no longer remain with my brother. She is too powerful."

* * *

"Rin, stay here! Do not go any further! We are not to be seen in the woods. Lord Sesshomaru wants us to wait for that miko to be alone!" Jaken tried to run up to the girl, but at six years old she was already much taller than he.

"Rin is hungry. I need something to eat, and I smell food!" She called over her shoulder as she skipped in the general direction of Kaede's village. _This village looks nice. I bet they would feed me. Then I can take Jaken back to Sesshomaru-sama. I am getting tired of wandering in the woods._

Jaken started choking as he realized they were nearing the first huts of the village. He ran as fast as his squat legs could take him and grabbed the back of Rin's clothing. Rin stopped quickly and Jaken ran into her, knocking both of them onto the ground. "Rin, you listen to me. Lord Sesshomaru told me to keep an eye on you, and that is exactly what I am going to do. There are people here who will recognize us as being associates of Lord Sesshomaru." He looked at Rin and grimaced. "Well, they would recognize me. You they would never look at. You are only a human, whereas I am a great and powerful demon."

Rin laughed, a loud and bubbly laugh. "Jaken is making jokes. Jaken is funny."

Before Jaken could set Rin straight, he heard voices he recognized. It was that infernal miko, Kagome, and that little runt Shippo. "Rin," he said in an anguished whisper, "we are too close to people who know us. Lord Sesshomaru will be very displeased if we disobey his orders."

Rin finally listened to him. "Rin doesn't want to anger Sesshomaru-sama." She sighed and began to walk back into the forest. "I guess Rin can wait until morning to eat. Let's go find Sesshomaru-sama."

Jaken finally took a deep breath as Rin understood what he was telling her. But, he wanted to hear what Kagome was yelling about. Maybe he could bring some important news to Lord Sesshomaru. _Then maybe I will no longer be a babysitter._

He wasn't sure what they were arguing about. Something about Inuyasha refusing to go and fight anymore. Something about a new moon. He tried to remember everything they said, though, because Lord Sesshomaru knew much more than he about Inuyasha. _Perhaps he would know what the new moon means._ Then he heard it.

"That is it, then. As soon as I am able to slip away from him, I will go back through the well and not return until after the new moon. Let's see. That is two days from now, so I have to find sometime soon when he isn't watching me."

Jaken leapt into the air. _This is what Lord Sesshomaru wanted me to find out. That miko will be returning to her home within two days. He must be told that she will be leaving. And soon._

He scrambled back into the woods, but soon realized that he had no idea where to go. "Rin! Rin, where are you?" He ran and jumped in rotation, trying to catch up to that stupid girl. And ran straight into Lord Sesshomaru.

He looked down at the runt demon with slightly arched eyebrow. "I thought I told you not to into the village and risk being seen."

"My Lord, I am so sorry. This Jaken is not worthy of your generosity. But I was following Rin, trying to stop her from entering the village."

Sesshomaru turned to his side, where Rin was happily swishing the fluffy ruff that hung from his shoulder. "Rin is right here. Where you were not."

"My Lord, I know this. I sent her back into the woods before she reached the village. But I overheard that miko talking to her friends."

Sesshomaru was suddenly interested. "I overheard the villagers say they had gone demon-hunting."

"I heard the miko with my own two ears. She was talking to the old miko and the little kitsune."

"And what did she say, Jaken?"

Jaken bowed, barely able to contain his excitement. "That she will be returning within two days to where she comes from. Before the new moon. That is when something is supposed to happen to Inuyasha, and he is afraid he will not be able to protect her."

Sesshomaru thought over what Jaken had said. She will return to the well soon. And I will be waiting. "We will let Inuyasha think that she is returning home, but she will not be coming back to him. Perhaps we can persuade her to take another route."

The trio took to the skies to return to Sesshomaru's castle. As they flew, Sesshomaru digested the rest of the information Jaken told him. Just what does happen to my brother on the new moon? He mentally noted to look the answer up in his father's library. _Another possible weapon against Inuyasha._

* * *

Coming Next – Chapter Four – The Well and the New Moon  
  
Inuyasha plans to remain in Kaede's hut as he becomes human, but Kagome slips past him to return home. Sesshomaru lies in wait at the well to stop her from returning home.


	4. The Well and the New Moon

Chapter three was a rousing success! I had no idea people would be so enthusiastic over something that came out of MY head! Well, this chapter sets up the first meeting between Kagome and Sesshomaru, now that he suspects she isn't all she seems. Enjoy...and keep those comments and suggestions comin'!  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter Four – The Well and the New Moon  
  
Kagome could not find a moment's respite from Inuyasha's unending guard for the next two days. It was now the evening of the new moon, and she was climbing the walls of Kaede's hut with cabin fever. She had not stepped more than 10 feet from the hut since her argument with Inuyasha. She had tried to learn herbal remedies from Kaede to help pass the time, but she was completely unable to concentrate anymore.

He always had some feeble excuse on hand to draw her back inside. And she had let him, because she knew he would never say outright he was worried about his safety. _But enough is enough! I have to leave tonight. Even if I am only gone one day, at least he can calm down and actually be able to rest. Then we can get back to finding Naraku._

Kagome threw the torn leaves on the counter in disgust. "Ugh! Kaede, help me. I can't find any reason to get away from him that he doesn't have some stupid counter for. I tell him I want to get some fresh vegetables for stew, and he says that Shippo already went to get some. Shippo doesn't like to go anywhere alone, and I know he was upset that Inuyasha made him go."

Kaede nodded her head as she tore up herbs for a medicinal salve. "I agree, Kagome. He is indeed smothering ye."

She motioned for Kagome to bring her something from the other side of the hut. Kagome audibly sighed and got up to get the pestle for her. When she sat back down and handed it to Kaede, the old woman sniffed. And sniffed again. Kagome also sniffed the air. "What is it, Kaede? Is there something in the air?"

"Kagome, I think Inuyasha has made you lax in your purification rituals."

"Huh?"

"Your purifications. That you usually take every other day."

Kagome sat looking at Kaede with a blank expression on her face. Kaede sighed. _Sometimes the young never understand a hint._ "Your bathing in the river, Kagome. You haven't been since last week."

"I have had a sponge bath every day." Kagome turned her head to the side and sniffed the vicinity of her shoulder. "I smell fine to me..."

Shippo sighed and bounded into the conversation. "She means..." Kaede put a hand to her mouth and Shippo lowered his voice. "She means that we could tell Inuyasha you want a bath. You take one all the time, an he can't get to fussy over that."

"Yeah!" Kagome was happy for one whole moment. "Wait, no. He will want to go with me. He'll be keeping lookout in a tree or something. How am I to get to the well if he can hear every move I make?"

Kaede smiled and put the pestle down. "Leave that to me. Gather your things, but don't take everything. You don't want him to suspect anything. Besides, you will be returning in a day or so." She went outside to talk to Inuyasha.

Kagome leapt up from her seat and quickly gathered her things. As she was putting everything into her pack, Shippo began to look worried. "Don't take your pack, Kagome. Then he will know for sure."

"Oh." Kagome put it back down on the floor. "I guess you're right. But then, I can't bring much back with me. I thought if I brought him extra ramen he wouldn't be so cross when I get back. And you're all out of suckers, Shippo. Oh well. Next time, I guess." She took her sundress and a towel out of the pack and started looking around the hut for her hairbrush and shampoo.

Shippo went and sat in a corner, sulking. _Me and my big mouth. Now it will be at least a week before I get another sucker._

"A bath! She needs a bath now?" Inuyasha fumed. He sniffed the air. "She smells fine to me?"

"Inuyasha, the girl has been pent up in a hut for almost a week now. Do ye remember when we put you in a hut for one evening to hide you while you healed from Sesshomaru's attack? You nearly tore the house down with all your fighting, and your hands were tied."

He calmed down a little, but still held his ground. "Yeah, well this is different. She isn't a demon, and my brother is still after her for all we know. Why didn't you try and stop her?"

Kaede lowered her head. _Sometimes it is so easy. He is already calm and about to concede._ "I told her that I would go with her. And Shippo. We will protect her. And the river is not far from here. Should anything happen, you will hear it."

His defenses pricked back up at that sentence. "What 'ya' mean, I'll hear it? You don't think I am going to let you and her go to the river alone, do ya'?"

"Now, Inuyasha. Ye and Kagome have been at each other's throats since she came back from her time. She needs some time away from you to calm down. As do ye. I will protect her well, and we will be back soon."

Before he could respond, Kagome came out of the hut, beaming from ear to ear. And Shippo was right beside her, also happy to be going somewhere; anywhere. _How can I say no without telling her why she can't leave? It is just a bath, and she is always so calm after she comes back._ He looked at all three for a few moments before making up his mind. "All right. But you be back here in half an hour. You hear me, Kagome? Half an hour!" And he stormed into the hut, angry at being trounced again.

Kagome, Shippo and Kaede watched as he slammed the door to the hut so hard that it slid open and closed again. The three shrugged in unison and headed to the river.

About halfway there, Kaede nodded to Shippo, who bounced back a few steps and looked back at the village. _No one. He sure must be mad, he isn't even trying to come along._ "All clear, Kagome."

She wasn't convinced. "Check the trees. You know how he likes to hide up there." _Just like his brother._ She smiled at that thought.

Shippo jumped up a couple of branches and looked around. In Inuyasha fashion, he sniffed the air. "Nope."

_I need to be sure. I am tired of him lurking around me for the last week. He was like a shadow._ "Sit, boy..." she said in a soft whisper. They listened, and a very soft thud echoed from the village. Followed by a slightly louder stream of curses. Again Kagome shrugged. "I guess he didn't follow." Shippo laughed so hard he fell out of the tree and bounced on the ground.

Kaede turned to Kagome. "Let us hurry. Just because he didn't follow now does not mean he won't follow later." And the three turned to the right and headed through the woods towards the Bone Eater's well.

* * *

Lord Sesshomaru, Jaken and Rin were nestled in a clearing on the other side of Inuyasha forest. Jaken was tending to Ahun's evening meal of thistles and berries, and Rin was skipping across a patch of mushrooms, trying not to step on them. Sesshomaru was watching her without much interest, then looked up at the sky. Twilight was approaching, and he could clearly make out the moon. Or at least its black outline. _The new moon. That miko has not been back to the well yet. If Jaken is to be believed, then she has to return tonight. I should begin the plan._

"Rin. Come here." Rin stopped the moment she heard his voice, and turned with a lopsided grin on her face. She gingerly stepped around all the mushrooms and stopped a few feet away from him.

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?" She tried to be humble, but almost tripped on her feet in front of him. Jaken sighed in disgust. _All the training I fed that girl, and she still cannot bow properly in front of Lord Sesshomaru._ He turned back to Ahun, but kept an ear on the conversation. He never allowed anything to pass his notice when he was in the vicinity.

"We passed a meadow not far back. Do you remember it?"

Rin thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama. The one with all the pretty pink and purple flowers in it. Rin wanted to sleep there tonight. Can we go there now?"

"No," he said firmly. Her face fell a little, and he lowered his voice. "I want you to go pick some thistles there for Ahun. Jaken did not get enough to feed Ahun properly."

Rin turned to Jaken, who quickly hid a mountain of thistles behind his cloak. She turned back to Sesshomaru and pointed to his left. "There are some thistles there. I will pick them for Ahun to eat now."

He waived his hands in that direction, and the thistles all drooped. "No. these are too dry and they will hurt his throat. He needs the fresh ones in that meadow." He saw her hesitate, and added for her ears only "You may pick as many flowers as you like. Ahun likes to eat those as well."

She jumped at this offer. _He never wants me to pick the flowers. I will pick the prettiest flowers in the whole meadow!_ She ran over and grabbed Ahun's basket, not even noticing the heap of thistles that Ahun was eating behind Jaken. "I will pick the juiciest thistles for Ahun. He will have a feast!" And she ran into the forest towards the meadow.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru called for his vassal without taking his eyes off of Rin.

He scrambled to his master's call. "Yes, my Lord?"

"I have made sure that there are no thistles blooming on this side of the meadow. She will be picking flowers all the way there. Make sure she gets to the meadow safely. Understand that no harm is to come to her." He said this forcefully enough that Jaken choked a little on his own tongue. "When she gets to the meadow, she will begin to find thistles. As she picks them, make sure she loses her way. Make the flowers disappear behind her. She will follow the flowers that lead to the well. After that, take your position where I told you to go and wait for me there. The miko will be returning there tonight."

"But...but Master, how do you know?"

Sesshomaru pulled himself to his full height, more than five feet over Jaken's diminutive form. Jaken gulped. Sesshomaru pointed to the sky, where the new moon was making its way to the zenith. "You said she would return there before the new moon. That is tonight. If she does not return to the well tonight, you will not leave it, Jaken."

He took to the skies and headed for the well, leaving a shaking Jaken to follow far behind Rin, mumbling to himself about being unappreciated in his own time.

* * *

Kaede, Shippo and Kagome made it to the well without incident. Kagome put her clothes on the ground and hugged Kaede. "I will be back the day after tomorrow, when Inuyasha is back to normal. Hopefully he will have calmed down by then."

"I doubt it. He carries grudges, that one," Kaede said with a smile on her face.

Shippo started sulking and kicking an acorn against the well's base. "I hate it when he is mad."

Kagome patted his head, and leaned down to his ear. "Don't worry, Shippo. Even though I didn't bring my pack, I will bring a treat for you. I promised you a cherry flavored sucker, didn't I?" He grinned and hugged her around the neck. Then bounded back into the forest.

Kaede began to turn towards the forest, but stopped and returned to Kagome. "Be careful, child. And make sure you are not gone long. Inuyasha may be protecting ye, but I don't think the new moon is the only reason. Be careful."

Kagome picked her things back up and sat on the edge of the well. "I'll be perfectly safe at home. I always am. The only problems I will have is when I return to Inuyasha. He will be so mad I left against his orders. I do not envy you being with him tomorrow."

The old miko shook her head as she returned into the forest slowly. Kagome just sat there for a moment, thinking about exactly how mad Inuyasha would be. _I don't care. I am tired of him treating me like property. I am my own person, and nobody owns me. Least of all him. He cannot even decide if he cares for me, or his long lost girlfriend, Kikyou. And she died 50 years ago. Sort of._

She was about to swivel her legs over the edge of the well, when she got that feeling that someone was watching her again. She began to panic, thinking that this wasn't such a good idea. _Not Sesshomaru again. And I didn't even remember to bring my bow and arrow with me. I don't think a hairbrush is going to scare him off._ She wanted to just jump into the well and be done with it, but something wouldn't let her move.

This time felt different. She wasn't really afraid, just upset at being caught unprepared. And, as she listened, there was a lot of rustling in the leaves of the forest. She turned back around and stood up. Whoever it was was making a lot of noise. _He's walking towards me!_

She watched the trees where the sound was coming from, and heard the softest noise. It wasn't a man at all. _Someone's crying in there!_ Kagome went towards the sound, and stopped when she saw a small pair of eyes looking out at her. "Who is there? And why are you crying?"

Rin timidly stepped out of the shadows of the forest, but only far enough that Kagome could see her. She did not really recognize Kagome, and right now she was so scared at being lost that she would not trust anyone but Sesshomaru himself.

"I know you. You're Rin, aren't you?" Rin nodded. "Hey! Don't you travel with Sesshomaru?" Again Rin nodded. Kagome didn't like being this close to a companion of Sesshomaru. He could be right behind her. "Why are you crying?"

Rin wiped her eyes with the back of her dusty hand, leaving a trail of mud across her face. "Rin was picking thistles and flowers for Ahun to eat and got lost. I cannot find my way back to Sesshomaru-sama and I don't remember crossing by a well." She almost started bawling again, at the thought of not seeing her master again.

As much as Kagome's instincts told her to jump into the well, she could not leave a scared and crying little girl alone in the forest on a dark night. Even if she did belong to Sesshomaru. She reached out for Rin's hand, but the little girl refused to take it. Kagome bent down until her eyes were on the same level as Rin's and again extended her hand, but Rin was still too afraid to take it. Kagome smiled at the dirty little child. "I promise I won't hurt you. I will help you find your way again. Then you can run back to Sesshomaru and I can go home too."

Rin stared at Kagome's hand for a moment, then took it tentatively. _I have a better chance of getting back to Sesshomaru-sama if she helps me than if I try to find it alone._

Kagome smiled and stood back up. "Now. Which way did you come from?"

"I don't know. I followed pink flowers into the meadow, but when I was done picking the thistles I couldn't find them again. All I saw were these yellow ones, so I followed them. And they led me here. To you."

Kagome thought that sounded strange, but she remembered how she was when she was little. _I bet Rin picked all the pink flowers along the way and forgot to look around for landmarks. _She looked in Rin's basket, which was overflowing with little pink flowers. "Okay. What did the place look like where you picked the thistles?"

She thought for a moment. "It looked like this, only without the well."

Kagome sighed. _I hate trying to get information out of a little kid. She's even worse than Sota._ Kagome looked past Rin to the area of the forest where she emerged. She thought for a moment, and then remembered that there was another little clearing in the forest not too far from here. Enough sunlight got through there for there to be flowers and thistles. _Maybe if I lead her back to that clearing she will remember which way she came from and I can let her go the rest of the way alone._ "I know where you came from. Let's go. The longer we stay out here the colder it gets." She took the basket from Rin so she wouldn't trip and led her back into the forest.

A few minutes later they emerged from the forest in the other clearing. Rin smiled happily. "This is it! There is where I picked the thistles. I remember it." She started swinging Kagome's hand and humming.

Kagome smiled. _There is nothing like a child's attention span to make you forget your own troubles._ She looked around and saw an area of the clearing that had been heavily picked over. And a trail of trampled leaves leading back into the forest. Kagome pointed to it for Rin. "See there? That is where you came from. Even in this dim light you can see where you walked. Just follow the picked flowers back."

Rin hugged Kagome's leg and skipped in a circle. "Thank you very much! Sesshomaru-sama will be so happy you helped me back. Wait until I tell him how you helped me."

Kagome held up a hand for Rin to stop and took the basket from her arm. "There is no need for that. All I did was point you in the right direction. You are going to do the rest yourself. Here." She handed Rin the basket and was about to give it back to her when she heard that voice that made her blood freeze.

"You wouldn't leave a defenseless little girl alone in a big, dark forest would you, miko?" He spoke from behind her, blocking her way back to the well. His face showed no sign of emotion as he took a few steps towards her. "Now I thought your mission was to help the helpless against demons like me. And here you are pointing one in my direction. Tsk, tsk."

Kagome didn't even think of what to do next; all she knew was that she had to get out of there. She dropped the basket and made a headlong dash in the direction of the village. _If I can't go home, maybe I can make it close enough to the village to call for help._

He knew she would do this and jumped up into the air. He landed directly in front of her, making her skid her feet on the ground to avoid running into him. Instead, she fell back on her hands, staring back up at him in fear. Real fear. _She has no idea why I am doing this. She must not know how much power she has inside her. Excellent._ He smiled, but only a little.

When Kagome saw the smile, she knew she was in real trouble. She turned on her hands and pushed herself up, while her feet continued to run. She dashed past Rin, who was yelping and jumping up and down, thinking this was a game. She turned and ran headlong into the forest, towards the well.

Only one thought ran through her mind as she leapt over shrubs and dodged low-hanging branches. _If I can make it into the well, I will be okay. He cannot follow me in there. He cannot follow me in there._

In no time she had made it to the Bone Eater's well. She felt such happiness at seeing it that she didn't bother to look behind her for Sesshomaru. She didn't care that he might see her go in and travel through the portal. All she cared about was that he couldn't follow her once she got into the well.

She placed one hand on the well and vaulted over, leaving her things in a heap where she had put them when she helped Rin. She was in the well in no time. What she didn't notice was that Sesshomaru was merely standing at the edge of the forest, with a crooked smile on his face.

* * *

Coming soon – Chapter Five – The Price of Survival  
  
Sesshomaru gives Kagome an interesting ultimatum: help me or regret it. Kagome is told what Rin's real purpose is in Lord Sesshomaru's life. Kaede and Shippo learn that Kagome may not have made it to the well, and Inuyasha catches his brother's scent in the air as he returns to his old self. 


	5. The Price of Survival

Chapter Four finally brought Kagome and Sesshomaru together. I wanted to show you how intelligent I think Sesshomaru is. And even though he doesn't show a lot of emotion, he is completely capable of using other people's emotions against them. Like Kagome. Now, you can learn that Sesshomaru indeed does have strong emotions and convictions. Read on...  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter Five – The Price of Survival  
  
"Ungh!" Kagome hit the ground with a hard thud. _This isn't normal. I usually don't land so hard._ It took her a moment to notice that she wasn't alone. Something was squirming underneath her. She looked down to see that her hand was on someone's face. She screamed and jumped back, but because she was on her knees she vaulted herself to the other side of the well and hit her head. Hard.

Jaken stood up and shook himself off. _That filthy miko pushed my face into the well. I had to inhale the dust of a hundred dead demons. Dead demons!_ "My Lord, my Lord! She is still down here."

Sesshomaru walked over to the edge of the well and looked in. He saw Jaken jumping up and down to the left. And to the right sat Kagome, dazed from hitting her head on the wall of the well, and looking confused at the dwarf demon dancing beside her. "Do not think you can get away that easily, miko."

Kagome gingerly put a hand to the back of her head. _Feh! That stupid toad broke my descent!_ "What are you doing in here?" She said to Jaken, who was still hooting in jubilation.

Jaken gave her a cursory glance before answering. "I am following my Lord's orders. He knew this would work. He is the greatest Lord in all the world!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. _Boy, does this guy have a problem._ She looked up to find Sesshomaru staring down at her. _Strike that. Boy do I have a problem._ She scrambled to her feet. Jaken had stopped dancing at that, and looked a little worried. After all, even Kagome towered over him. "You little toad. I ought to...." She lifted her foot and stomped it so near the toad that he really thought she was going to step on him.

Jaken shook his staff in an effort to appear menacing. But, he knew he couldn't use it in such a small area without hurting himself. He looked up towards Sesshomaru. "My Lord, she is trying to kill me! Help me out of here."

Sesshomaru merely backed away from the well. Jaken quickly scrambled out. But Kagome didn't budge. _She will have to come out of there eventually._ But, his patience was cut short when another thought entered his mind. _Without Jaken in there to cancel her travel, maybe she will go through the portal._

Kagome barely had time to think of how to get out of this new crisis, when Sesshomaru jumped into the well and grabbed her around the waist. She was pulled so close to him that she couldn't struggle. Or breathe. She was choking on plush white fur that hung carelessly from his shoulder. _Great. I am going to die at the hands of a white boa._ He jumped into the air without really landing on the floor of the well, and she was standing outside of the well before she could blink her eyes. _That well is over a hundred feet deep and his breathing didn't even change! Wow, is this guy strong. And he held me so tight that I wasn't even afraid to fall. His arms were so... Stop it! You have other things to worry about, Kagome. Like what to do now... _"How did you do that?"

He looked down at her, the smile gone from his face to reveal nothing, as usual. "Do what, miko?"

"Why am I not at home?"

He gave a short sigh. _I thought she was smarter than my brother, but now I am not so sure._ "It is your miko powers that allow you to travel to wherever you are going. A demon presence in the well, however insignificant, would force your powers to protect you, rather than let you leave this place. So, I sent Jaken into the well to stop your descent."

Kagome looked at him openmouthed. "How did you know that would work? You only saw me come out of the well a week ago."

Sesshomaru turned towards the forest, where Rin was emerging, having finally caught up with the debacle. "I have seen you go in as well as come out. The blue aura around the well when you travel is all the proof I needed to know that your untapped powers help you go to your home. If I had been mistaken, the only thing it would have cost me was Jaken. A small price to pay for such a victory."

Jaken choked on his master's words. "M...my Lord? You almost killed me? But, why? I am your most loyal and humble servant..."

"Quiet!" Sesshomaru stilled the toad without even looking at him.

Rin had come to stand beside Sesshomaru. Kagome could tell that the child was absolutely exhausted, but happy to see him. _Why is she so attached to him? He kills humans without a second thought. Although, she has been with him for a year or so, and she seems to be in good health. Except for the fact that she was just used as bait._ "You used Rin to lure me away from the well."

"Correct. I had to give Jaken time to get into the well. And time for your friends to get far enough away to be of no help to you." He let those words sink in for a moment before he added, "Real friends would not have left until they saw you disappear down the well."

Kagome was getting angry now, forgetting for the moment that she was in danger. "Hey, wait a minute. She trusts you. How could you use her like that? She is just a kid." He looked down at Rin, who beamed a smile up at him that revealed her recently lost tooth. "I knew you would not be afraid of her." "But, you...used...her...as...bait! Anything could have happened to her in this forest. She could have gotten hurt." _Jeez! He really doesn't care about her, does he? She is just some sort of prop to him._

"She was led to the well by Jaken. And you would not have hurt her. I know humans like you very well. You protect others even at the cost of your own life. Which is exactly what you have done this evening."

His words reminded Kagome that she was in very real danger here. She looked around for an avenue of escape, but she was blocked from the well by Jaken and his two headed staff. Rin and Sesshomaru cut off her route through the woods. And she wasn't sure her voice would carry back to the hut. _Well, it might, but I bet he has already thought of that._

As if reading her thoughts, he answered the questions in her mind. "You only have two choices, miko. You are too powerful to return to Inuyasha. He does not know how to handle you. If he did, you would not be here." Kagome was about to respond to his talking of her like she was an object, but thought better of it and closed her mouth. "You can come with me, now, and discuss your future. Or I can kill you where you stand."

A shiver traveled up her spine at his last sentence. _He isn't giving me much of a choice at all._ Finally, her brain kicked in, and she straightened up as a powerful thought shone brightly in her head. _If he wanted to kill me, he had plenty of opportunity to have done so already. In the other clearing, before I got into the well, when he went in to pull me out, now... He wants me alive for something. _"And if I refuse?"

"There is no refuse. You either follow me or I kill you now." To add emphasis to his statement, he raised his one hand, which began to glow a sickly green.

_Acid. Great. I know exactly what that claw can do._ "You went to too much trouble to catch me to kill me now." She sounded oh so much more confident than she felt. The sight of that green mist surrounding his hand had her feet shaking in her shoes. She did not relish death through evisceration and poisoning. Not tonight, anyway.

"It is true that you are interesting, for a human. But do not think that it was hard to catch you. You have picked up some bad habits from my brother. Your anger, for instance, which led you to this predicament. And your rash behavior. You act too much without thinking. These behaviors will change if you want to stay alive. There are others like you that I can use instead. It would be a small matter to kill you and find another. But, I will not let Inuyasha have another powerful weapon at his disposal. The Tetsusaiga is enough."

Kagome couldn't help but think she detected a little sibling jealousy in his last remark. _He is still upset over that thing._ She looked down at his left arm, which was not there because of that night. _Okay, maybe I can understand why he is upset. If I lost an arm in a battle, I would probably hold a grudge too. Is that why he wants to kill me? Because I helped Inuyasha by pulling out the Tetsusaiga?_

"Answer, human. I grow tired of waiting for you."

Kagome blanched. Her friends thought that she had gone home. _They had probably broken the news to Inuyasha by now._ She didn't want to die, but she could not go with him. At least, not without knowing why he wanted her. She only had one hope left right now. _Inuyasha can also travel the portal. Maybe he will still be angry enough that I disobeyed his orders to come after me. If I can just stall a little longer._ "What do you need me for?"

He looked at her, a bored expression on his face. "That is no concern of yours."

"Like hell it isn't. We're talking about my life, here. If you want me to choose between life and death, the least you can do is tell me why I may want to live. Especially since I will be living with you."

The thought struck a chord in Sesshomaru, and he answered without hesitation. "To train Rin."

She wasn't expecting that. "Train Rin? Train her for what?"

"Can you not sense it?" He waited while Kagome looked over the little girl. Rin was confused by the whole conversation, and so tired that she didn't care that they were talking about her now. "Rin has untapped miko powers as well. Had she been raised properly in her village, she would be studying and learning the ways of a priestess. Instead, she landed in my path. She may not have as much power as you, but she could be molded into a powerful weapon."

Kagome was too angry now to remember that she was in deep trouble anymore. "She is a child, Sesshomaru, not a weapon. And if you think that I am going to train her to be a weapon for you..." She couldn't come up with any proper threat at that moment, so she continued with "Well, you've got another think coming."

Inwardly, he smiled. _She isn't even afraid anymore. She is standing here at the mercy of the Lord of the Western Lands and she no longer cares what happens to her. She is now fighting for Rin's life. Impressive._ "You forget your place, miko."

"My name is Kagome," she said through clenched teeth. She took a breath and continued with her pleading, and stalling. "Besides. I can't train her. I am still in training myself."

He waived his hand at that remark, still laced with the deadly green mist. "You have learned all you can learn from that motley crew. I would allow you to continue to focus your powers under my care, as you teach Rin how to do the same. Two mikos, especially one powerful one, is always better than one little one with no control."

"Oh, so now I am another one of your weapons?" No answer from him. "Think again, Sesshomaru. I am no one's weapon. Not yours, not Inuyasha's, nobody's. You cannot use me do wreak havoc on the lands, killing innocent people. And I will not let you use either me or Rin to destroy Inuyasha. He is your brother!"

Sesshomaru's face suddenly took on an ominous sneer. "You talk too much, miko. You have refused. Now I have no recourse but to kill you. You cannot return to Inuyasha."

He moved his feet wider apart, which Kagome fleetingly noted that placed Rin behind him so she couldn't see what happens next. _Which is my death, dammit. Me and my big mouth._ Kagome closed her eyes as Sesshomaru raised his claws to strike, unable to think of anything else to do.

But his hand stopped in mid-charge, as something else caught his attention. Jaken turned to his master to ask a question, but stopped as something also caught his attention. "My brother comes. You have stalled too long, miko."

She didn't have the chance to respond to that statement. She did however emit a strangled scream as his arm again trapped her against him. Rin grabbed onto his fluff as he and Jaken took to the sky. A moment later, she heard the distant roar of Inuyasha's voice as he screamed his brother's name.

* * *

Inuyasha was livid with the old miko now. _Even she had gone against him this time. I know that Kagome and Shippo might do something like this, but I thought for sure that Kaede would understand why Kagome had to stay here. I don't care about my turning human, except that I would not be able to protect her when Sesshomaru comes back._ "I can't believe you took her to the well. What if Sesshomaru was there?"

Shippo whined from a corner. "He wasn't there. We went to the well with her, and no one was there at all. It was just as it always was."

Kaede gave her two cents. "It is for the best, Inuyasha. Any more time cooped up here with your sunny demeanor and she would start tearing ye apart. She is just as safe in her own time as she was here. And she will return the day after tomorrow."

As angry as Inuyasha was, he was also relieved that he did not have to worry about her safety anymore. His anger cooled quickly as he knew she was safe. "Well, at least you saw her safely through to the well. No one was there and she went through okay."

Kaede and Shippo looked at each other. The silence stretched uncomfortably, and Inuyasha began to get the feeling that they weren't telling him something. "You did see her go into the well, didn't ya'?"

Kaede spoke first. "She was entering the well when I turned to leave. But I heard nothing as I left, so I know she went through the well."

Inuyasha looked over at Shippo, who would not look him in the eye. He stepped outside and caught a familiar scent in the air. _Sesshomaru. I can feel my power draining. The new moon is here. Kagome..._

He flew through the village to the woods while he was still able, and made it to the well as the last of his power left him for the night. He immediately saw Kagome's things strewn in disarray around the right side of the well, and a forgotten basket of flowers spilled nearby.

Kaede and Shippo quickly caught up to him, although both were completely breathless. She saw the clothes on the ground and immediately knew that Kagome had not made it home. "She had those in her hand when I left her sitting on the well. I did not sense him anywhere."

Shippo started crying. "I didn't smell any demons near us here, Inuyasha. I swear. I thought Kagome was safe!"

Inuyasha yelled at the little kitsune. "This is exactly why I wanted her to stay in the hut. Where we ALL could protect her. Now Sesshomaru's got her, if she is still alive." He had no idea what Sesshomaru wanted with Kagome, and all sorts of creative images went through his mind. The best he could figure was that Sesshomaru was using Kagome as a trap for him. _Then he'll probably kill her, if he hasn't already. Lord knows she would be much easier to handle if she were dead._

He fell to his knees by the well as he realized how powerless he was. _I can't even go after her now, not like this. I can barely fight my brother fairly when I am my hanyou self. He would surely kill me as a full human. Kagome!_ "Sesshomaru!!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "If you hurt one hair on her head I will tear you limb from limb!"

* * *

Coming soon – Chapter Six – Searchers of the Truth  
  
Miroku and Sango return to find their gang in chaos. Inuyasha takes off on his own for the Western Lands in search of Kagome. As Kagome decides her own fate, Lord Sesshomaru uses underhanded tactics to learn more about her village. 


	6. Searchers of the Truth

Chapter Five gave Sesshomaru the upper hand over Inuyasha again, snatching Kagome without even breaking a sweat. And Inuyasha is sure that Sesshomaru is after him. Now that she is gone, how is he supposed to get her back, weak as he is?  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter Six – Searchers of the Truth  
  
Miroku walked silently beside Sango on the dirt path, anxiously watching her profile as she stared straight ahead. _I can't take it anymore!_ "Look. I said I was sorry."

Sango neither looked at him nor asked what he was sorry for. "Yes you did. Several times." Kirara wisely decided to move out of earshot for this conversation and took of down the path, completely unnoticed.  
"I didn't know that she was going to take it that seriously. I mean... You know how I am."

"Yes, I know exactly how you are."

She was really starting to sound perturbed. He watched the flush creep up her neck and creep along her cheeks. "How was I supposed to know that she would take a little hand gesture as a proposal of marriage?"

Sango stopped in the middle of the dirt path and faced Miroku. _You pig!_ She wanted to yell at him so badly it hurt her throat not to. But, she didn't want him to know how much his manhandling of _every woman he sees_ hurt her. She pulled every ounce of nerve she had together just to say her next few words at a dull roar. "What did you expect her to do when you rubbed her butt? Say 'monk, stop it.' Of course she was going to think you were in love with her. Did she look old enough to have known better?" The last of her rant came out almost at a scream.

He just shrugged and gave her that half-smile he usually gave. "Aaaaah!" She yelled, releasing much of her pent-up frustration, but not quite enough. She resumed walking, but Miroku stayed put, digesting her words for a moment.

Suddenly, a light dawned on his countenance. He ran to catch up to her, grabbing her arm to halt her march. "You aren't jealous, are you?"

She couldn't look him in the face. _Because if I do, he will know that I'm jealous, and he will never, ever let me live it down. _He put a finger under her chin and brought her eyes up to his laughing ones. She was so embarrassed at his seeing her like this that she wrenched her arm away and started walking again. "Of course not! But your dallying almost cost us a jewel shard! I had to battle that damn demon all by self. We are supposed to be a team, Miroku. If I can't count on you..."

Again he caught up to her. He stood in front of her to block her path. She just stood there, staring at him, willing him to deny that he was with that girl. "I got there eventually. And I'll have you know that his tentacles were where no tentacles ought to be..."

She pushed past him. "I don't care..."

He turned, now behind her, watching her leave. He said very quietly, "Yes, you do."

Sango stopped, only about a foot away from him. Her shoulders drooped in defeat as she dropped all her gear. _He knows. Damn him, he knows._ He came up behind her, putting his arms around his waist. She did notice that for once, his hands were in a perfectly respectable place, around her waist. But his chin set on he shoulder, his breath on her throat. "I know you do. I'm glad you care."

"If you're glad I care, then why do you do those things?" She barely breathed the words. She stared ahead, afraid to break the spell he was casting on the moment. Here they were, filthy with claw marks on their clothes, in the middle of a dusty road in the heat of the day, and she thought it was the most romantic place she had ever been. _How does he do it? Every time. He has me wrapped around his fingers. _

Miroku's lips were so close to her ears, she could feel them as they replied softly, "To get your attention. When I hold you, you push me away. But when I hold them, you drag me closer." He lightly kissed her ear. If he hadn't been holding her, she probably would have dropped to the ground right there.

She turned into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. _This is what I have been trying for for so long. Right now._

They had barely touched each other's lips in an intimate kiss when they both heard him. "Sango, thank goodness!" Muttering a string of curses no monk should know, Miroku let go of Sango as a tired Shippo flew at them from the direction of the village. "Sesshomaru has Kagome, and Kaede and I had to sedate Inuyasha with herbs and tie him down to keep him from going after him as a human! Hurry!" Miroku helped Sango pick her things up, and they all ran to Kaede's hut.

When they got there, they found Inuyasha, now human, tied to a chair which was overturned on the floor. Kirara was in her large form, standing on him with two paws and growling menacingly. "Inuyasha, what are you doing? Do you want your brother to know that you grow weaker every new moon?" Miroku just stood over his friend, letting Kirara stay where she was. _It is easier for her to do that than for me to. Especially in the state he is in._

"That bastard has Kagome! God knows what he plans to do to her to get to me."

Sango looked over at Miroku when Inuyasha stated this. "Do you really think that Sesshomaru would hurt Kagome just to get Inuyasha to come to him? Is that why he is after her?"

Miroku put one hand to his chin, as if in prayer, before answering in the sagest voice he could muster "If it was his intention to use her as bait, then no. I do not think he will hurt her. At least, he would not hurt her until we can see her. If she is alive, we must be careful in our dealings with Sesshomaru. If she were to die, then there would be no need to be careful, we would just kill him." He straightened up, as if that answered everything. "No, he will not hurt her, Inuyasha. She is more useful to him alive."

Shippo was crying in a corner, scared of Inuyasha's behavior. "Yeah, Inuyasha. He won't hurt her. Please calm down."

Inuyasha stopped struggling, mainly because tired much quicker as a human and there was a giant cat on his chest. "You don't know my brother. He could have killed her already and simply not tell us until we go to retrieve her. We need to go now."

Kaede interceded here. "You are going nowhere, Inuyasha. If I have to sedate you again, I will. You will not reveal your weakness to your brother. He already knows Kagome is one of your weaknesses. Do not let him know the new moon is another."

Sango and Miroku placed their things on the floor and sat down at the fire. "Now that this is settled, we have plenty of time for you to tell us the whole story," Miroku said to Kaede. The old miko nodded to the monk, and began to unravel the past few days they had missed.

* * *

When Kagome could finally stand on her own two feet, she had no idea where they were. _It is well past midnight, so I know we traveled a long way. I wonder if this is the edge of his lands._

As if in answer to her thoughts, Sesshomaru released her waist, only to grab her arm and turn them in the direction of a magnificent estate. A traditional, sprawling castle came from the mist like a spider, sitting not 15 yards in front of them, and yet she would never have seen it a moment ago. _This must be where he lives. It looks just like him. _

The outside of the house gleamed with polished mahogany and silver trimmed doors, large archways leading into expansive courtyards enshrouded in the mist that hid it completely. Here and there, lights shone through the papered walls, giving Kagome the impression of someone walking through the halls of the estate with a lantern, watching them enter. But, she wasn't given much time to take more notice of who it might be, or of her surroundings. He was herding her into the main courtyard and through one set of doors after another. She lost count of how many doors and passages they had gone through, with Rin and Jaken close on their heels.

Finally, they came to what seemed to be the very end of the castle. Or the middle of a maze. _He wants to make sure that I couldn't find my way out of here, even if I wanted to. Huh? Why did I think that? Maybe he'll leave me alone with Rin, and she can get me out of here. Of course I want to get out of here._ Strangely enough, Kagome didn't feel as threatened here as she did at the well. But, before she could put a finger on that feeling, Sesshomaru let go of her arm and she looked into his eyes. _Cold and calculating. And menacing. So much for not feeling threatened. Everything about this guy screams threatening_.

"You will stay here. Should you require anything, Jaken will get it for you. Until you have answered me, he will be your only company."

Kagome frowned at this. "The toad? I thought you wanted me to teach Rin how to be a miko?" The little girl took a couple of steps towards Kagome at the mention of her name, thinking she was a part of the conversation.

But, Sesshomaru put his hand on her shoulder, keeping Rin beside him and not taking his eyes off of Kagome. "Did you hope that I would leave her with you, so you could get her to lead you out of here?" He let out a little laugh that did nothing to make Kagome feel more comfortable. "Jaken, take Rin to her room. And make sure she cannot find her way back here alone."

Jaken took the little girl out of the room, smiling and murmuring something about stupid mikos and their big mouths. "I can't stand that sniveling little toad!"

Again he smiled. "Am I supposed to make your stay here pleasurable? I was not aware I had hinted at that when I gave you an ultimatum." He took a step closer to her. "Which you still have not answered, may I remind you."

She remembered that conversation. _Remembered, hell. The fear I felt at that moment has etched it into my brain._ "Keh! You said we would discuss my future. Not lock me in a dungeon and set your toad on me."

He took another step closer to her at those words. "You will be respectful and watch your mouth around me, miko." He was only inches from her, and she had to crane her neck back to still look into his eyes.

His repeated refusal to use her name perked up her courage again. _His brother used to do the exact same thing! What's wrong with my name? _"My name is Ka-go-me!"

Again he took a step towards her. This time she had to step back or he would have been on top of her. She put her hands up in defense. _A pretty weak defense, but it is all I got at the moment._ "I will use your name when you show respect!"

"Fine," she muttered. _Maybe a concession here will get him to back off a little. He is too intimidating by half._ He did not move back, but at least he had stopped his advance. "But, I do not want to stay here. I want to go home."

"I cannot allow you to go home."

"Why? I am of no use to Inuyasha if I am home."

"Because eventually you would come back to him. Your problem is that you are too useful a weapon. He needs you with him. I cannot allow it."

Her eyebrows rose at this. "You cannot allow him to be happy with me?"

He shook his head. "I cannot allow him to be happy he has you. He knows you are a powerful miko. Or you will be. Your powers are like the depths of an ocean no one has yet explored."

He caught her off guard with that remark. _Poetic?_ Kagome shook her head at the picture she got in her mind of Sesshomaru, perched in his tree, reading Byron and sighing at the flowery words. _Or just trying to throw me off._ "He does not think of me as a weapon. Inuyasha is not like you."

Sesshomaru noticed how his description of her powers left marks on her cheeks. _Has this girl never been told of her powers before? Or is she not used to praise?_ He tried another vein. "Very well, let us discuss your staying here. You cannot go back home, and I will not let you return to Inuyasha," he forestalled her argument again by adding "for whatever reason he wants you back. But, I will let you make up your mind if you want to stay?"

She let out a little laugh at that. "How? You just told me I couldn't leave. That means stay or die. I get it. But I won't help you." Kagome knew something was coming up behind his words, and wasn't sure that she wanted to hear them.

"You are forgetting about your little pupil."

"What about Rin," she whispered, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I have looked extensively for someone to train her. Your other miko is too old to stay here very long and train her. And no other miko I have met has the strength to stand up to me." When she again blushed at his words, he let a slight smile curve his lips for just an instant. "Yes, miko, I think that your courage, even if it is fruitless against me, is very commendable. But, if you decide I should kill you rather than let you stay, Rin will be left without a teacher. Without a purpose..."

Kagome took another step away from him at his insinuation. "You wouldn't kill Rin, would you?" He said nothing, not even moved a muscle. "I thought you liked her. She is never very far away from you. You would kill her just because I don't want to stay with you?"

He lifted his shoulder slightly in reply. But, the abject repulsion in her eyes made him change the subject. "I will let you think on it and give me your answer after Jaken has given you your breakfast. In the meantime, you will tell me about the area where you are from."

His quick change left Kagome without words. He continued to stare at her, and the boldness in his eyes caused her stomach to flutter. _This is a guy who is totally used to getting what he wanted. Right now, no questions asked. Hold it together, Kagome._ Don't tell him anything. "There isn't really anything to tell."

The look in his eyes as he searched her from head to toe told her he thought otherwise. "It must be far, if you must use your powers to get there. And by the state of your dress, I would say it does not get too very cold there in the wintertime."

Flustered, Kagome fumbled for something to say. _Anything. He doesn't know your are from the future, so just make someplace up._ "It gets cold, but hardly ever snows. But it is a long way from here." She could not look him in the face as she lied, sure he could see it in her eyes.

His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out a way to get the information out of her. She had shown no such shyness earlier. _Perhaps she is ashamed of where she comes from. A poorer province. That would explain her lack of clothing._ "Where is it? Perhaps I already know of it."

A giggle escaped her lips at that thought. If he only knew how close it actually was. "I don't think so. There are no demons there."

He let out a short growl, perceiving what she said as a threat. _Or a slight. Does this girl actually think herself better than a demon?_ He took another step towards her. In response, Kagome's hands shot back in between them and she took another step backwards. "Tell me where you are from, miko."

"No, really. You have never heard of it. I promise." Another step for both of them, and Kagome felt the mahogany and paper wall at her back. _Damn, no place left to go._

"It was not a request, miko. The name."

Kagome let out an exasperated sigh. "My name is..."

"Kagome, tell me now!"

"Tokyo!" She blurted in response to her name. _Why did I say that? Just because the guy uses my name? Surely I am not that easy to get information out of. _

He smiled. He then also noticed that she was backed into a corner, and his smile reached his eyes. _She was truly afraid of me, even if she did not show it. Let's see how much more information I can scare out of her. If she is scared of me merely by being close..._

"Now, you will tell me what the new moon means to Inuyasha." She shook her head, too scared of his nearness to speak. "It was not another request, girl. Answer me."

"Another? When have you ever made a request?"

Sesshomaru leaned closer to Kagome, so his next words were very quiet and a mere breath from her face. "Why must you insist on resisting everything I say? You cannot help him by staying quiet." He leaned closer, so that his cheek was almost pressed against hers as he whispered in her ear. "If you do not tell me, there are other ways to find out. Now that I know it is important to him, I could simply go to him and find out for myself."

His words caressed her ear, sending butterflies to her stomach. But the menace behind them also sent chills down her spine. She said the first thing that came to her mind. "I don't know. I am not there, am I? I only know that he needed to do something during the new moon. I swear."

He knew she was lying, but also knew there was a grain of truth to the words Kagome spoke. He inhaled no desperation in her scent as he lingered so close, only determination and healthy doses of fear and strength. _Powerful indeed. If she can control her fear enough to lie to me, she may be the right one to train Rin. _

Sesshomaru decided that he had pushed her enough for tonight and backed away. He straightened up, feeling that he had lost something as soon as he had let the moment pass by, but he didn't stop to figure out what. "Perhaps you have had enough for one evening. It is late and you are tired from the night's events. I will leave you to your thoughts." He turned to leave and opened the door, revealing Jaken standing guard on the other side. He stopped, facing the door as he said "Just remember what you need to tell me in the morning, miko."

As he closed the door, he gave a small smile to himself as he heard her softly mutter to herself, "Kagome."

* * *

Inuyasha sat calmly, tied to his chair in the corner of Kaede's hut. The fire in the pit had dimmed, and almost everyone was asleep. It was almost morning, but still quite dark outside. He had struggled for control of himself for most of the night. He knew in the recesses of his mind that he still had a few hours until he returned to his hanyou self. _It would be best to wait until I am back to full strength before finding Kagome._ That was his human half, the one voice in his head that always echoed Kagome's sentiments. He should wait; she would be fine until then. He repeated this mantra to himself for the next hour, waiting for dawn. She was strong enough to hold out against his brother. Sesshomaru had no reason to hurt her, and never acted without reason.

But Inuyasha did. As the daylight stretched the miniscule first fingers of light through the break between land and sky, his human reasoning started to give way to another rationale. Although he still looked completely human, his thoughts were becoming more hanyou. _Sesshomaru stole her right out from under my nose. He is daring me to come after him. And he knows I will._

His fingernails started to return to their claw shape, and Inuyasha quickly tore them through the bindings lashing him to his chair. He watched his comrades sleep, working as quietly as he could. Something in him demanded that he do this alone. _This is a slight against me. He took what is mine, and I am the only one that can get it back._

Inuyasha slipped quietly from the hut, the last thing he did with someone else's consideration in mind. As soon as he stepped outside, he felt the rays of dawn in the air, and his hair glowed silver in the sleepy sunshine. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, waiting for the transformation to be completed.

With his demon half firmly entrenched back in his body, he opened his eyes to the orange morning. His red eyes sparkled, mixed with sunlight and the hunger for revenge. "Time to get back what belongs to me." He began to run faster than he had ever run before, following the scent of his brother, Sesshomaru.

* * *

Coming Soon – Chapter Seven – A Plague on the Western Lands  
  
Kagome inadvertently lets important information fall into Sesshomaru's hands, which alters their strained relationship. His demeanor towards her changes as he decides whether she will live or die. Inuyasha tears a vicious swath through the Western Lands looking for Kagome. 


	7. A Plague on the Western Lands

I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who likes the way I write. Until this story, no one had ever thought I wrote very well. I guess it depends on how you feel about the subject matter. I love this manga! I have only been hooked on Inuyasha and the gang for about 6 months, and am still playing catch up with the 370 issues. So, if I get a little too off character, PLEASE tell me. I really want to know.  
  
Chapter Six gave us a glimpse of Kagome's attraction to Sesshomaru. She doesn't know it yet, but it is working its way to the surface very quickly. And, I think the fact that he is threatening her at every turn should tell you something about him as well... (wink). As for Inuyasha, well the old saying goes "It is always darkest just before the dawn."  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that are used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and are not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (whew!)  
  
Chapter Seven – A Plague on the Western Lands  
  
Kagome woke from an almost nonexistent sleep to find that yesterday was not a dream. She was in a strange bedroom, sparsely adorned with beautiful furniture. She had slept on the most comfortable tatami she had ever laid on. The bamboo base for the short bed was larger than she was used to, giving ample room for the tossing and turning she had done all night. And the four thick comforters on top of that were each a piece of art. The top comforter was a pink that reminded her of the flowers that Rin loved to pick. Beautiful golden threads embroidered on the top of the comforter played out a couple of Japanese myths, drawing not only beautiful trees and mountains, but kimonoed ladies and magnificent magical beasts. And the pillow for her head was a matching pink inlaid with golden threads. But the single picture stitched on the single panel was of a girl deep in prayer. Kagome let out a soft snort at that thought. _I guess this is his way of saying I should be more obedient._  
  
There was a dresser made of a rich ochre wood by the door, but Kagome declined to see if there was anything in it. She looked around and also saw a beautifully delicate curved chair, made of black lacquered wood and adorned with intricate jade carvings of dog demons. She got up from the tatami and crossed to the chair. The back of the chair revealed two almost identical dog demons growling at each other. _Just like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. They are always at each other's throat. All Inuyasha wanted was to be accepted by his brother and he was despised for being a hanyou. The nerve of that silly dog!_  
  
She opened the door to find Jaken asleep in front of it. She contemplated stepping over him and trying to escape, but she knew she would never find her way out of here by herself. She looked around the hallway and saw that the door led into a walled courtyard. There were only a couple of trees and lots of grass, but it looked like a peaceful place to sit and hone her and Rin's powers.  
  
_Wait a minute! I am not going to stay here and teach Rin how to use her miko powers just so Sesshomaru can have another weapon!_ She grimaced at the thought of that adorable little girl being used in such a way. _Well, it isn't exactly as if he hasn't used her before. He used her as a decoy to get me, and she didn't seem to mind one bit. Maybe if I helped her use her powers, I could help her assert herself against him. I bet he would love that, two troublesome mikos on his hands.  
_  
She shook her head at that thought. _You already sound like you are resigned to living here! Well, I don't want to die, and I can't very well leave her in his hands. Without me, he said he would have no choice but to kill her. He didn't say that exactly, but the implication was there.  
_  
Kagome sighed in disgust at that thought and was about to close the door to her room when Rin's voice regained her attention. At the end of the long hallway, Rin stood waiving frantically, with a big smile on her face. And she was holding Sesshomaru's hand. Kagome couldn't see it clearly because their hands were hidden behind the folds of Sesshomaru's attire, but she knew they were.  
  
As if he sensed it, he let go of Rin's hand and leaned down to whisper something in her ear. Rin giggled and ran into the courtyard. Kagome watched Sesshomaru coming purposely closer to her room. She instantly slammed the door shut and retreated to the far side of the room. It took a moment for her mind to realize that she was subconsciously running her hands through her hair and straightening her attire. _What am I doing? Who cares what I look like to him. He is a monster!_ She forced her hands to her sides just before he opened the door.  
  
Behind him, Jaken had awoken and was now caressing his backside where Sesshomaru had kicked him out of his slumber.  
  
Sesshomaru silently closed the door behind him, effectively cutting them off from the outside world. He silently took in Kagome's haphazard state. _She has obviously just awoken. Her hair is in disarray and her clothes in tatters._ He uninterestedly surveyed the room and found that she had not touched anything but the bedding. _She has not had time yet to properly prepare herself before meeting me, so her nerves are on end. I can sense it. Excellent._ "So, miko. Have you had adequate time to decide your fate?"  
  
He stayed by the closed door, arm at his side, and simply stared at her. But that was enough to set Kagome's heart racing in excitement. _What is it with this guy? He seems so sure of what I am going to do. Well, he knows I won't do anything to harm that little girl, damn him._ Her inner conflict momentarily made her forget that he was standing there, watching her, waiting for an answer. Kagome merely continued warring with her two selves: the one that wanted to run far away from him, and the other that wanted to protect Rin and fight Sesshomaru.  
  
Sesshomaru, for his part, simply continued to stare, knowing full well that she was trying to summon up the nerve to say she'll stay. He let a small smile grace his lips, but only for an instant. _Gloating around this girl would never go over very well. One look at me and she would be wanting to be killed just to spite me. But, let her decide for herself and it is only her inner voices that are fighting. She would never let me harm Rin, and that is the key to controlling her. I can smell the fear coming off of her, and hear her heartbeat pounding faster and faster with each passing second. It is just as I have planned._  
  
However, he was beginning to get impatient when, after five minutes of standing just so, she still had not said a word. _I think she has completely forgotten that I am in the room. It is time for a reminder._ Sesshomaru walked up to her until he was only inches from her face. Still, Kagome could not bring herself to say anything. He was no longer so sure if she was still debating, or had decided that she would rather die. "Is the room not to your liking?"  
  
Kagome stared into his golden eyes, finally realizing that he had come so close to her. She gulped before answering. "Huh?"  
  
His hand swept around the room. "Rin told me you would stay if you had a, how did she say it, 'a girlish place to sleep at night?' Was she wrong?"  
  
Now she was completely confused. "Uh...no. The room is fine."  
  
"Then do you require something I have forgotten?" He audibly sniffed the air. _Another trait he shares with his brother,_ she noted. "Do you not like the clothing in the chest? Jaken picked them out from the village nearby. He said he saw many people wearing them."  
  
_What is going on? Is he trying to placate me?_ She glanced to the red ochre chest she had seen this morning. "I hadn't had time to look through anything yet. I had just woken and there were more pressing matters on my mind."  
  
He nodded slightly in agreement. "Ah. That is why you have not bathed. I agree. A matter of life and death is always more important than what dress to wear. And what have you decided?"  
  
Kagome suddenly felt very trapped. _Why is he interrogating me suddenly? Yesterday he couldn't have cared less. Now what I say is so important?_ She opened her mouth to say something, but another thought came into her head. _Wait, I remember. He is just tired of looking for a trainer. He could care less what I actually think. Keep it together, Kagome. He does not care about you._  
  
"Are you trying to catch a fly with your mouth open like that? Or has the ability to speak left you?"  
  
Her face reddened at the chide and anger bubbled to her rescue. "Of course not, you oaf! I just cannot force myself to say I will stay with you willingly. I mean, if I don't you will kill a little girl who thinks you hung the moon. Not to mention me. But staying with you is just the last thing I would ever want..."  
  
He inhaled so sharply at what she was saying that she stopped mid-sentence. _Perhaps this is not the best time to be upsetting the dog demon, Kagome. I mean, he is so close that you can feel him breathing. And his eyes are so golden and fierce... Focus, Kagome!_ She gave a startled cry as his hand grabbed her arm and jerked her forward, only a little bit, but enough to catch her full attention. She tried to push away, but he continued to hold her pinned in place with just one hand. This was a terrifying new sensation for Kagome. _Especially when his dark golden eyes are so angry, and far too close to mine.  
_  
"Tell me then, miko. If you find staying with me so repulsive, then why is it Jaken told me you did not even try to fight your way out of here? Granted you do not know your way around, but you put up no fight at all. Are you that prepared to die, or is there something that you aren't telling yourself?"  
  
Fighting back a sudden rush of panic and the urge to claw her way free of his infernal grasp, Kagome forced herself to be still, staring back at him with as little emotion as he showed her.  
  
"You have no right to keep me here! Or to question me and expect any answers at all. You know damned good and well that I don't want to die, and that Rin shouldn't die because of me. You are a mean, evil bastard, and the... the... the most..."  
  
The words died in her throat as a small, soft ripple of laughter escaped from his throat, brushing his warm breath on her lips and throat. "Swearing does not become a miko like yourself," he interrupted her, "especially one so young. Have you never been properly taught respect?" He pulled her a little bit closer to him, so now there was no denying that she was truly trapped. He continued to speak with a softness that belied his menacing words, "Perhaps it is time you had a lesson in respect, girl."  
  
Kagome was stunned when he kissed her. _This is nothing like the times when Inuyasha has kissed me. Inuyasha was so shy and compliant. Sesshomaru doesn't give, he takes. And takes._ And takes. As the kiss continued, Kagome ceased to be able to think at all, but melted into the kiss, now incapable also of resistance.  
  
His clawed fingers slowly caressed up her arm, and moved up alongside her face to better position her mouth to his. It was now his mouth that held her captive; his hand now barely touching, teasing her cheek. At first his kiss was hard and demanding, but he quickly decided that her confusion was heady to him. He changed tactics so quickly that she seemed not to notice. As her lips parted under his kiss, he began to take his time. He almost tenderly kissed the corner of her trembling mouth, returning to her lips to cover them possessively with his.  
  
It was only when his hand left her face to caress her neck and lower toward her shirt that Kagome began to recover her bravado. She felt as if she had been drugged. Her own voice sounded foreign to her when she spoke, so deep and rasping. "Don't! Please stop."  
  
"I won't feel the need to do this again if you learn proper respect, girl."  
  
Although barely a whisper and also low and rasping, his voice shocked her completely back into reality. _I just kissed a demon! Inuyasha's brother, no less. God, what is wrong with me?_ Kagome blinked her eyes back open and focused on the demon who had stepped a few paces back from her. As usual, there was not a hint of what had just transpired between them on his face. _But I bet mine is so red I'm glowing. Is this his idea of punishment? Or control?_  
  
Kagome mustered all of her control to say her next words with level calm. "Please don't ever do that again."  
  
He smiled at that. "While you are in my house, you will obey my rules. Not the other way around."  
  
_Keh! Just like my mom._ "Then I am leaving."  
  
He straightened at her remark and his voice rose slightly. "No you are not. I have decided that you will stay and train Rin.'  
  
Shock is the only word to describe how Kagome felt. "But..."  
  
"You take too long in making up your mind, miko. Another form of disrespect that you must learn to correct. Before I have to correct it for you." Although it was hard to tell if he cared about correcting her behavior, Kagome could have sworn he was looking directly at her mouth as he said those last sentences. Her mouth went completely dry, leaving her with nothing to say. Sesshomaru took this as assent and turned to leave.  
  
Sesshomaru stepped out into the hallway, and Jaken squirmed to his feet. "My Lord, is there anything I need to do? Clean up a dead miko, perhaps?"  
  
He had said those words a little to joyfully for Sesshomaru's liking, and all he got was a stare. He then looked over at Rin who was standing in the courtyard staring back at him. "Rin. Come here."  
  
Rin ran up to him, hoping he wanted to play with her. Instead, he gave her instructions. "Rin. Go into Kagome's room and help her change. She will begin giving you lessons today." And he took off very quickly for his own chambers, deep in thought.

* * *

Inuyasha had finally landed on the edge of his brother's lands. By this time, the fury in his head had taken complete control of his body. His claws had become longer, and his fangs larger. He was filled with blood lust. The first group he had come upon were demon vassals of Sesshomaru. They immediately recognized him as a relation to their lord and master, and they all knelt before him and bowed.  
  
But Inuyasha did not recognize their obeisance. He did not recognize anything. Even the Tetsusaiga could not assuage his bloodlust this time. His brother had stolen something from him that he had held dear. And the rage inside of him had transformed him into a mindless demon. Unfortunately for the demons at his feet, Kagome was the only one who could calm him now. And she wasn't there.  
  
He jumped into the air and drew his claws over his head. He yelled at the top of his lungs and came crashing down on top of the seven bowing demons. Inuyasha destroyed them in a single blow, tearing their bodies to pieces and covering his clothing in their blood. This still did not satisfy him, and he sniffed the air for his brother's scent. Now knowing where he was to go, he walked through the wreckage of bodies toward Sesshomaru's castle at the other end of the Western Lands.

* * *

Sesshomaru was sitting quietly underneath a large leafy oak tree in his private courtyard. No one else in the castle was allowed to come into this courtyard when he was here, on pain of death at his hands. He was just staring at the ground, thinking.  
  
_Why did I kiss her? A human. I wanted to teach her a lesson in respect and proper manners, not a seduction._ He shifted slightly and picked up a rock from beside him. He rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger, as if it could solve his problems for him. She is staying now. _I do not doubt that she will not leave as long as I hold Rin's life over her head. But, I am not sure how long I can do that. Eventually she will either prove me false or find a way to escape with Rin. Kagome is a smart miko. Which makes her a very dangerous one to me.  
_  
As his fingers played with the worry stone, he remembered what he had gone into her room for in the first place. He had gone to get her word that she didn't want to die and would stay. He laughed silently at that. _I made up her mind for her. I had no desire to see her die._ But, he has also meant to get more information from her on the new moon and Inuyasha.  
  
Sesshomaru stood up and walked towards the wing of rooms that Kagome shared with Rin and Jaken. He took the back way, so that he could sneak up upon her. _Perhaps she is opening up to Rin. That girl has been a rich source of value to me. And I have the distinct impression that Kagome will do almost anything to keep from telling me about her friends. And herself. I still do not know where she comes from. This Tokyo she mentioned doesn't exist anywhere on my maps. _He let out a small laugh at that. _She tried to placate me with a false village. Smart girl._  
  
He came up to the back of Kagome's room, and uncovered that she was still in there with Rin, from the sounds of talking and Rin's infectious laughs. Since the sunlight was facing him, he was able to come almost up to the papered wall without being seen. He could, however, make out their silhouettes. Rin was sitting on the tatami brushing Kagome's hair. Kagome was facing the wall that he was standing behind. That was all he could see in the silhouettes, but he could hear them clearly.  
  
"Do you like it here, Kagome?" Rin asked as she tried so hard to properly brush Kagome's hair.  
  
Kagome winced in pain at the amount of pressure the little girl was using to brush her hair. _She is dragging the darn thing across my scalp. It'll look like little claw marks all over my head._ That thought put another in her head. One of Sesshomaru's clawed fingers dragging down her hair, getting tangled. And she also remembered the very real feeling of his lips on hers, of how quickly she succumbed to whatever it was he was trying to teach her. She couldn't remember that anymore. "This place is pretty nice."  
  
"Is it nicer than your village?" _Good girl, _thought Sesshomaru as he listened at the wall.  
  
Kagome sighed. _At the way I'm going, I am never going to see home again._ "No. But my village looks nothing like a village anymore. It is a huge place with too many people to count." _If I can't impress Sesshomaru, at least I can give Rin a good story. She would love to hear about Tokyo, and Sesshomaru would never know that the stories she tells him are the truth._ "My village stretches farther than the eye can see. And there are buildings that reach the clouds that are made of glass. In my village, people can live in the clouds."  
  
Rin dropped the harsh brush in amazement. "Whoa!" She propped her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands. She was completely spellbound. Kagome stood up, rubbed her head for a moment, and walked to the ochre chest. She was thinking of what to tell Rin as she looked for something to hold her hair back with. _Maybe if I tie it back, Rin will be less likely to want to brush it._  
  
Sesshomaru heard the soft rustle of silk and could tell by her silhouette that Kagome had put on one of Jaken's chosen kimonos. It looked like it fit her very well. He noted that she looked a few years older than in that short white and green kimono she usually wore. _Keep the thoughts on what she is saying, man._ He turned his head from the wall so he could concentrate on her words again.  
  
"We have these things called trains that can take you anywhere you want to go. And they are so fast! I bet they are even faster than Sesshomaru." His ears pricked at this jab at his ego. "And we even have these planes that we can fly in to anywhere in the world. It is so amazing there."  
  
Rin cocked her head sideways, puzzled. "How come I have never seen you flying around in one, Kagome? Wouldn't it be easier to fly around than jump in a dirty old well?"  
  
Kagome sat down beside Rin. "Well, the well is the only way I have found to get home. I can't take a plane back here, Rin."  
  
"Why not, Kagome? You said it would take you anywhere in the world."  
  
Kagome stood up and crossed to the far wall. "See Rin...It's like..." She searched for the right words to say. _I can't say what is the real reason._ "I can't tell her I can't travel through time on a plane. She wouldn't even know what that meant." She mumbled this so low that Sesshomaru almost missed that. "Besides, it isn't as if she could ever go there. Only Inuyasha somehow can. And he can't even get through when he turns human..."  
  
She turned away to say something to Rin about the planes, but he was no longer listening. He walked away from the room to digest the mutterings of the strange miko. "If she is to be believed, then she is from the future..." _That would explain much about her strange behavior._ He shook his head, crossing back to his courtyard to think.  
  
"How did she come from the future? How did she know that the well would take her back here?" He sat back down underneath the oak tree to think about Kagome. He sat there for hours. Trying to figure out the new mysteries she had revealed about herself to him. Finally, he came to a few conclusions. _She must be a powerful miko indeed to transport her weak human body through time. I made the correct choice in taking her from Inuyasha. If he can also travel through the barrier, then there must be something that connects them..._ Sesshomaru stood up as soon as the final piece of information she had related sank in. "Inuyasha turns human at the new moon!"  
  
The elation at discovering his brother's weakness was soon overshadowed by the realization that he had just spent the last few hours thinking of nothing but Kagome. "Damn!"

* * *

Chapter Eight – A New Twist on an Old Theme  
  
Sesshomaru presses Kagome for change, but neither of them expects the change that takes place. Rin begins to transform, much to Jaken's dismay. Miroku and Sango finally reach Inuyasha, only to find that he too has changed. And a familiar face emerges from the shadows.


	8. A New Twist on an Old Theme

Chapter Seven gave us a glimpse into what the two main characters re feeling. Kagome is beginning to feel trapped more by her feelings than by him. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, feels that Kagome would make a nice addition to his entourage. Let's continue. By the way, sorry about this update taking so long. It was over 8 pages typed by the time I was done with it.  
  
For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (Whew!)  
  
Chapter Eight – A New Twist on an Old Theme  
  
_It has been three days since I came here, and still no sign of Inuyasha._ Kagome was supposed to be deep in concentration, sitting in the lotus position in the courtyard with Rin. But try as she might, Kagome could not keep her mind focused on anything for more than a few moments.  
  
Rin, as young as she was, had no trouble learning the proper way to meditate. And Kagome had woken up this morning to find her already concentrating on focusing her powers for the day. _At this rate, she will be better than me by the end of next week. It took me ages to learn to focus my energy every morning, and she takes to it like a duck to water._ She sighed and closed her eyes tighter, this time forcing all the thoughts out of her head.  
  
Kagome actually did manage the meditation ritual for about five minutes. Then she noticed the wind that blew past them gently, causing the little chimes that Rin hung in the trees to ring softly. This made her think of the jingling of Miroku's staff as they walked off to find adventure. _I wonder if they are even coming after me. Surely they have started looking for me. Even if I had managed to go through the well, I would have been back two days ago. Damn that Sesshomaru._  
  
Kagome mentally scolded herself for cursing again, and then for listening to Sesshomaru's advice. _Three days. Just three days in his presence and he already has me customizing myself to his lifestyle. Who gives a tinker's damn if I cuss him out in my head? It is his fault that I am cussing. Damn him. Damn, damn, damn. There. Let's see him try and stop that._  
  
Kagome opened her left eye to make sure that the demon lord wasn't standing beside her, reading her thoughts. But, all she saw was Rin, concentrating on honing her skills, her little tongue sticking out of one side of her mouth. Kagome couldn't help but smile at the little girl. _If she only knew that her life depended on this, I wonder if she would try so hard. But, I'll never tell Rin that the demon she idolizes has threatened to kill her. I would never burst a baby's bubble like that._  
  
_Damn! Why can't I concentrate on anything other than him?_ Kagome sat up straighter in an effort to shake her thoughts loose of Sesshomaru's hold. But all she managed to do was change their course. _Where is he anyway? Since the first day I started to tutor Rin he hasn't been anywhere in sight. He wouldn't leave our side that first day. Watching every move I made, as if I planned to blow her up or something. I almost got the impression he cares for her._  
  
_But he didn't come anywhere near me. Since that first morning here he hasn't been within arm's reach of me. Since he kissed me._  
  
Rin peeked through half-closed lids at her tutor to see if she was doing this right. Kagome was smiling from ear to ear for a moment, and Rin took that as praise for her hard work. She also smiled and closed her eyes again.  
  
_What a lovely kiss. I mean, he was quite rude and all, scaring the wits out of me. But... I remember that it made me feel so... nice. And it was a little satisfying to know that he looked a little out of sorts, too. The high and mighty Lord of the Western Lands kissed a captive miko for no real reason. Well, there was a reason. I couldn't seem to stop egging him on. I just wanted to get a rise out of him. Some kind of damn emotion! But I never expected passion...  
_  
The thoughts that Kagome was having had absolutely no intention of leaving her head, so she stopped trying to focus her energy. She would have to do it later, when she wasn't constantly thinking about Sesshomaru. _Or wondering where he is. Or worrying about him. Or wanting him to...  
_  
"Stop!" The words escaped her lips before she had a chance to stop them. Rin jumped a foot in the air, and looked at Kagome curiously. "Uh, I mean, I think we have done enough for today."  
  
Rin jumped up and ran over to the far side of the courtyard, where a little bow and dull arrows sat. Kagome had made them out of the newest branches of the courtyard trees, and they were now Rin's most prized possessions. "Not those today, Rin. I think we need to give Jaken a break." Rin's face lowered as she gingerly placed the little bow back down. Kagome stood up and reached for Rin's hand. "I am going to show you another part of miko training that is just as interesting. We are going to learn healing properties of herbs. Let's find a good garden."  
  
As she expected, Rin's face lit up at the prospect of spending the day among the greenery of a garden. _This girl should grow up to be a farmer,_ Kagome mused to herself as she was led by Rin to another part of the castle. Then her mouth opened wide in shock.  
  
There before her was the garden of Kaede's dreams. Se quickly went to the edge of the garden and dropped to her knees. She brought her hands to the first leafy thing she could find. _Worms wort,_ she thought in wonder. _Why did he have worms wort? Who would have thought that a demon would need to keep so many medicinal herbs on hand? Unless he has been planning for Rin's miko powers for some time. And Ginseng, and...OOH!_ Her mind reeled at all the herbs that she and Kaede had to search endlessly for, now in front of her in endless abundance. She was like a kid in a candy store!  
  
She remembered Rin, who was standing beside her, watching her fascination with a growing glee of her own. Kagome rose up on her haunches and signaled Rin to bring the basket. "Come on, Rin. I'll teach you everything I can remember about these herbs. Everything I can think of is right here, and I see quite a few I have never seen before."  
  
Kagome was bursting with the excitement of having everything so close at hand, and Rin was easily infected with it. Before long, the girls had become a giggling mess of leaves and dirt smudge; but neither of them cared. This was how Sesshomaru found them a short while later. He watched as Kagome's head bent toward Rin's, telling her of all the properties of whatever plant they were looking. _And she remembers most of the properties, anyway. Better than she thought she would. Of course, she overlooks the obvious wolfs bane, and the..._ He straightened himself up, catching the way his thoughts had just started to ramble. _It doesn't matter that she only knows maybe half the plants at her disposal. There are other things that she excels at that shadows the holes in her herbal training._  
  
He let his mind wander for a moment to three days ago when he kissed her. _Respect. That is what I was trying to teach her. Words don't seem to penetrate her hide. It was the only thing I could think of._ He took a couple of steps closer to the garden, but not so close that Kagome would sense his presence. _I thought it would scare her, make her listen for once. Never did I suspect that she would actually like that kiss... like I did...  
_  
_Enough! She is here for one reason and one reason only. She will train Rin to use her miko powers, and then..._He snorted softly at that thought. Before he thought any more about his predicament, he turned and left the two girls to their studying.  
  
He followed the short hall to the left and entered his room. Sparse would be the word to describe it. It was large, so that he had plenty of room to move around, but to take his true form he had the courtyard, so there was no tatami in here. His room was mainly used as a study, because it was easier for him to strategize in his human form than as a giant white dog.  
  
He crossed to his overlarge black-lacquered desk, which was slightly cluttered with maps. The lines on these maps had been frequently redrawn to show how his lands had increased of late. If _there is one good thing that has come from Inuyasha's determination to find the jewel shards, it is the noticeable lack of opponents when I decide to add to my fortune._ He let himself show a little smile at that. Sesshomaru lifted his head from the map as the girls' giggles rose slightly. _Well, maybe there is more than one thing...Dammit!_  
  
Sesshomaru walked behind the desk to the impressive wall of books, running a clawed finger along the oldest volumes. His hand lighted on a particularly worn book, which looked as if it hadn't been moved in centuries. He took it off the shelf and sat down in a large black and jade chair. _My father was ever-meticulous about everything he did. I remember reading in here his thoughts on having a bastard son. If anyone knew about what happens to Inuyasha during the new moon back then, he would have found them. This damn journal might make it easier for me to find a way to get rid of that pup for good._  
  
As he read with growing interest, he didn't bother to hide the feelings welling up inside him at the thought of Inuyasha. In this room, where he was guaranteed privacy, he allowed his thoughts and feelings to see the light of day. He knew that there was more than one reason why he needed to gain the upper hand over his brother, and it went beyond the petty sibling rivalry that fueled many of their previous encounters. Sesshomaru never understood why his father had placed so much respect and attention on his half-brother. _Father always deferred his respect to that damn hanyou, even after his mother died. Father made sure that Inuyasha was never in any real danger as a child, even if he was teased. The only times he feared for the hanyou's life was when I found him. If I could have killed him back then, I would have._  
  
_But, now what keeps me from killing him? Each time we cross paths, I always overpower him, but never finish. Why?_  
  
Sesshomaru decided not to dwell on these questions that frequently came to his mind in here. Even more so since his house had become more complicated. He dove deeper into the old journal looking for answers he was no longer sure he wanted to find.

* * *

Shippo was the first one to come upon the scorched ground this time. It was still steaming from Inuyasha's last encounter with Sesshomaru's vassals. He looked around. "He can't be too far ahead of us now. The ground is still warm from his wind scar." He surveyed the ashes and pieces of demons that were all that was left of the encounter. _I wonder what these guys did to piss him off. This is the fifth incident we have come across in five days. And they don't even seem to be slowing him down_.  
  
Miroku looked around him as Sango stepped from Kirara's back. "Something doesn't feel right here, Sango. I don't sense Inuyasha's presence."  
  
Sango shivered at the gory sight before them. She had seen many vicious battles in her lifetime as a demon slayer. But this seemed to be just so... "Unnecessary."  
  
"What, Sango?" Shippo turned his head from a bloodless corpse, looking instead at his friends.  
  
"This. All this. It seems so unnecessary. And violent. Not like the Inuyasha I remember."  
  
Miroku, nodding but deep in thought. "I agree, Sango. I have seen this before. Sesshomaru told us once that when Inuyasha feels that his life is in severe danger, his demon half can take over. He will become a full demon, but will not recognize anybody or anything. I am sensing that this is what happened here." He closed his eyes for a moment to see if he could locate Inuyasha's direction before continuing. "He feels his world as he knows it was truly threatened when Sesshomaru stole Kagome. That fear transformed him."  
  
Sango nodded in agreement, although she did not like what she was hearing. "And the only thing that changed him back that time was..."  
  
"Kagome."  
  
Shippo didn't feel like bouncing anymore and started walking slowly in the direction that Inuyasha went. "We need to find her fast."  
  
The troupe started walking, but Miroku and Sango continued their analysis of their friend's psyche. "There is one thing working in our favor right now."  
  
Sango turned to him, but kept their walking at a brisk pace. "What is that?" She was stroking Kirara in her arms, who had taken her smaller size to give Sango some comfort.  
  
"With Inuyasha as a full demon, he cannot use the Tetsusaiga."  
  
Shippo turned around. "That's right! The Tetsusaiga was meant by his father to only be used to help people. His brother, Sesshomaru, cannot even touch it because he is a full demon."  
  
Sango actually smiled a little at this hopeful thought. "So he cannot use his deadliest weapon. That's a good thing. Especially if he isn't able to recognize us." She thought on it for a moment. "That only leaves his claws,"  
  
"And his fangs," Shippo reported in.  
  
Miroku's shoulders fell. "And his speed and agility."  
  
Sango let Kirara down and picked up her pace. "We have got to find Kagome."  
  
After about an hour of walking, with Miroku promising that he sensed they were close, something stopped him in his tracks. Sango looked at him anxiously. Before he could say what was bothering him, the sky darkened. Shippo jumped into Sango's arms. "This doesn't look good."  
  
"No, it doesn't" Miroku agreed.  
  
"Anything but that. Not now," Sango said with a defeating tone.  
  
Above them, at least half a dozen iridescent silver soul catchers flew by, each holding the essence of a lost soul. "Not necessarily," said Miroku.  
  
Shippo looked at him. "What do you mean? She is the last person we need to be battling right now."  
  
"I don't think we will be battling her. It doesn't seem like she wants to put on a fight, anyways." They looked ahead of him to a willow tree, swaying in the chilled breeze.  
  
Sure enough, in a high perch sat Kikyou. She was just staring at them as her soul catchers circled her high above. The silvery catchers swirled above her head, each dropping a soul as they reached the pinnacle of their vortex. The souls were immediately absorbed into Kikyou's clay body, giving her an eerie glow.  
  
"Nice to see you have finally come looking for your... friend." She watched as Sango took a defensive posture in her direction, brandishing her weapon menacingly. "Put your weapon down. I am not going to fight you... today anyway."  
  
"What do you want, Kikyou? Shouldn't you be rotting away somewhere?"  
  
Kikyou winced at Miroku's harsh words, but remained calm. _I need these buffoons if I am to get what I need._ "I know that you have a problem. And I think I can help you."  
  
Shippo hopped up on a rock before replying to her offer. "What do you know about it?"  
  
She smiled at the squirmy little kitsune. "I know that Inuyasha is tearing through all the youkai in this area, looking for Kagome. I also know that he has reverted to a feral demon form."  
  
Sango gasped. "How did you learn this?"  
  
Kikyou laughed. "I saw it with my own eyes. He just passed here."  
  
"And he didn't try to kill you? Not bloody likely."  
  
"Believe what you want, demon slayer. I also know that the only one who can calm him down is his precious Kagome." She looked down at her now captive audience. "Who is also lost."  
  
"How did you know that?" Shippo was a little impressed that the dead miko knew so much.  
  
"She is me. Her soul always calls out to me. I can help you find her."  
  
It was Miroku who spoke up this time. "Why do you want to help us? You are not overly fond of us, you hate Kagome, and the last time we saw you, you said that you wanted to take Inuyasha back to hell with you. I think we need another explanation."  
  
She jumped silently down from her perch, and the only other things that moved were the wavy branches of the tree. "I do not hate Inuyasha. I love him. I love him still. When I said that, I merely wanted to be with him forever. But, I do not want to see him like this. He wanted to turn human to be with me. I still remember his words."  
  
Kikyou stood in silence for a moment. "You need Kagome to calm him back to his hanyou self. I am still a part of Kagome. I will help you bring him back to earth."  
  
Miroku thought about her words. _She looks sincere. But, when have we ever been able to trust her?_ He looked at Sango, who stared back. Then she raised her shoulders in defeat. "What other choice do we have in this matter?"  
  
Shippo was not convinced. "Prove to us that you are not just going to let us find him for you and then kill him."  
  
Kikyou stepped around the tree and disappeared behind the enormous trunk. The trio walked around the tree and were again stopped in their tracks, speechless. Not 10 yards away from them stood Inuyasha. He was still panting with his exertions of the past few days, but otherwise was perfectly still.  
  
"He passed me earlier, as I told you. It took him a while to recognize me, given his present condition. But his nose caught the same scent that reminds him of Kagome. We are pieces of the same soul. It will be harder for me to calm him, but I can do it..."  
  
Miroku nodded in certain understanding. "If we let you come with us."  
  
She smiled in agreement. "Yes. I can calm him now, but if I leave he will eventually revert back."  
  
Sango walked a little closer to Kikyou, still unwilling to completely accept her. "I'll ask one more time. Why do you want to help us?"  
  
Kikyou turned to Inuyasha, who was staring at her with deadly intensity. "That is between me and him."  
  
The trio looked at each other. They all knew that right now, Kikyou was their only hope in recovering both Kagome and Inuyasha. As they silently decided to accept her generous offer of help, they didn't notice her half smile. _Right where I need them._

* * *

Sesshomaru's peace was disturbed by a low thud. He looked up for a moment, but felt nothing out of the ordinary in the air and returned to his father's journal. This is intriguing. _If this is to be believed, our father knew that Inuyasha turns mortal on every new moon. He was born under the new moon. So, he was born human. Perhaps that is why he is so attached to his human friends. And why he took a human lover. That... Kikyou. And why he wants Kagome._  
  
_I give up. I cannot seem to stop thinking about her. Perhaps if I knew that she would stay and train Rin, I would be able to stop worrying and get down to better things._ Like breaking down my brother. He still looked at the journal, but was no longer even trying to read.  
  
Another low thud, this time accompanied by a yelp from Jaken, finally brought him out of his brooding reverie. He went to his door and opened it to find Rin running around the herb garden, using her little bow and arrow to pop Jaken in the butt. In the head... in the arm... Sesshomaru was about to stop her, but noticed something very promising. Every willow branch arrow Rin loaded into her little bow glowed just a little at the dulled tip before she released. And these dull little arrows were having an effect on Jaken. He was slowing down, and less able to escape her than he used to be. _Yes, he looks tired._  
  
"Rin." The voice caused Rin to stop in her tracks, the little blue light on the end of the arrow instantly dying. She looked over at him, sure that she was in trouble. "Come here."  
  
She dropped the arrow into the herbs and walked slowly to Sesshomaru, her head bowed. As she past Jaken, he let out a little laugh of triumph. But, Rin made sure she stepped on his foot as she passed, which shut him up immediately. That also did not pass Sesshomaru's notice. _More like Kagome every day._  
  
He waited until she finally looked up at him before he spoke to her. "I see that you have come a long way in a very short time. Soon, Jaken will have two people here to fear." She suddenly beamed from ear to ear. "But enough practice for tonight. Go and have your bath." She skipped of in the direction of her room, and a grateful Jaken bowed to the floor in front of him.  
  
Sesshomaru walked past the prostrate toad and went to Kagome's room. As he entered the hallway, he stopped. He listened at the door, but the room was now silent. He could have sworn he heard her singing. He stood still for a moment, wondering if she will start to sing again, when suddenly the door was wrenched open. "Can I help you?"  
  
_Ah, I forgot she can sense when I am too near._ "I wanted to tell you that I have seen what Rin is able to do with her arrow now."  
  
Kagome smiled and stepped out into the hallway. "Ah. Was she shooting her arrows at Jaken again? I told her to stop that. I though she did..." That was all she could say before she broke out into giggles at the sight of Jaken cowering before the little girl.  
  
"You are more acceptable as her trainer than I thought you would be."  
  
She stopped her path to the courtyard at the unexpected compliment, and wondered why it would send butterflies to her stomach again. _Keh! I can't be having feelings for him._ She started up again at this thought, trying to separate herself from Sesshomaru. _As if she thought he could read her thoughts. I am not falling in love with him! He is evil! He is Inuyasha's brother, who has tried to kill us both. He is...  
_  
Kagome turned to sit down on a bench underneath a tree in the courtyard, and immediately noticed that Sesshomaru was already there, sitting beside her, waiting to talk. _He is so handsome._ She shook her head. _No! He hates humans. He has killed people just for being people. But what about Rin? He seems to care for her. Again she shook her head. If he truly cared for her, he would not hold her life over my head._ "Keh!"  
  
He turned to face her. "What, miko?"  
  
She blushed for a moment, then angered at his refusal to use her name. "God! How many times do I have to tell you to use my name?"  
  
He sighed. "And as I have already told you, you must learn to give respect to get it."  
  
"So you still refuse to use my name?" Sesshomaru said nothing. She stood up and looked down at him, but not too far. "All this time I have done what you asked. I have stayed in this damn place and played nursemaid for Rin. And this is the thanks I get? You won't even call me by my name? Then to hell with you, Sesshomaru. To hell with you!"  
  
She stormed back towards her room, but only made it to the hallway before he jumped on her, pinning her to a wooden column and almost knocking the breath out of her. "I told you not to use such language here." His breath fanned her face, as he was again only inches from her face. She was uncomfortable being pinned against the column, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. Kagome made an attempt to free herself from his grasp, but again felt helpless as his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to the column.  
  
"And I told you, I don't care what you think. This is ridiculous! I want to go..." Before she could say anything else, the breath caught in her throat as he sniffed her hair. His cheek brushed against her forehead, sending tingling messages down her spine throughout her entire body. _Damn her, she smells so rich and warm._ _And her fear is intoxicating._ He calmed down somewhat as he continued to move his cheek along her forehead.  
  
Kagome tried to pull away out of instinct, even though it was futile. "Don't touch me! I can't stand for you to touch me." This brought Sesshomaru out of his reverie, and he brought his eyes back to hers. He simply stared at her, a smile that was not quite a smile twisting his lips. Then he let out a little laugh that should have warned her to be afraid. But Kagome was too angry at him to be afraid right now.  
  
"I think you do not..." He said as he continued to study his flushed face. "I think if I just push you a little in the right direction, you will do whatever I want, just for a chance that I might touch you."  
  
"What happened to your precious pride? I thought you hated humans like me." She insulted him before she realized she shouldn't have. Sesshomaru pressed closer to Kagome, until her entire body was pinned by his to the column. Kagome was having trouble breathing; although she was not sure if it were due to his close proximity, _or his close proximity._  
  
He decided not to let her off so lightly this time. Kagome could sense it, with a feeling of desperation, before his mouth came down on hers with deliberate, calculated slowness, cutting off whatever stupid thing she would have said next. He kissed her until Kagome thought her neck would snap from the force of it, until her knees weakened and her mouth opened greedily and her head was no longer capable of rational thinking.  
  
When he felt her give in so easily again, his hand left its crushing hold to explore her spine, up to the nape of her neck, his claws caressing her with tenderness. Tenderness? A voice in the back of her head managed to say. But that was the distinct impression his hand on her back had on her senses. She sensed tenderness; warm and needy.  
  
His hand continued to play with her, brushing lightly over her shoulder and down to the edge of the kimono that covered her breasts. Sesshomaru growled against her lips and became a little more demanding as his claws lightly raked down the fabric, sending trails of goosebumps over the curve of her breasts. His hand became possessive, holding her breast through the thin fabric, teasing lightly, and sending strange responses that felt like electric shocks straight to her brain.  
  
_How can a guy I hate this much do this to me?_ In a last ditch effort to remove herself, she twisted her head from his kiss and managed to turn a little to the side. This did nothing to stop Sesshomaru, who continued his attack on her senses by trailing kisses from the corner of her mouth to the side of her chin. He sampled every delicate area of her neck, inhaling her scent and making himself forget for a moment that she had ever hated him at all. The havoc he wreaked on her senses when he licked her neck from chin to chest, then blew air on it, gave him a feeling of pleasure he had never known before. He had never realized that it could feel just as good to give as to get. But he tucked that thought away for later. _Not much later..._  
  
His mouth moved with mesmerizing slowness to the breast he had been playing with only moments ago, using his claws to drag the fabric out of the way. His tongue played with her nipple just as his claws had done before, making her start to shiver all over again. Kagome couldn't help but chide herself as she stood there without pretense and just let him do that to her. _How can I actually enjoy the feel of his lips, his fingers, on me? What is wrong with me? _But even the voice in her head stopped as his hand explored her belly, trapped between their bodies now as he touched her intimately, his fingers seeming to burn her through the layers of silk kimono that lay between them. Kagome's face felt as if it were on fire, and her body was in no better condition, giving her a dangerous feeling of wanting to take more than he was giving.  
  
As soon as it had started, Sesshomaru stopped. Kagome nearly fell to the floor, because suddenly all the support his body had been giving her had been torn away. His arm caught her as her legs buckled under her, so at least she was spared that embarrassment. She was about to scream in frustration when she looked over at Sesshomaru, who was looking down and to the side.  
  
"I can't find my hair brush," Rin explained, apparently heedless of what she had just interrupted. "Kagome, can you give me a bath?" Sesshomaru turned away from them and walked slowly to the courtyard, unable to look either girl in the eye. Kagome sighed and held out her hand to Rin. Before Rin took her hand, she pointed at the top of Kagome's kimono, which was about to fall off of her shoulder.  
  
She blanched as she hauled it roughly back into place, her eyes never leaving the back of Sesshomaru's head. She grabbed Rin's hand a little more forcefully than she wanted to and fairly dragged the poor little girl towards the bathing area. "Come on, Rin. _Lord Sesshomaru_ needs to be alone with his thoughts...again."  
  
Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder as the two mikos walked away. _What I need is to be alone, but not with my thoughts._ He sighed in frustration as he realized that the long walk back to his room was going to be a little more painful than it should.

* * *

Coming Soon – Chapter Nine – Pieces of the Same Soul  
  
Kikyou is drawn to the distress that Kagome's miko powers are projecting. Kagome is torn between growing feelings for her captor and her need for freedom. Sesshomaru decides to take matters into his own hands. The rest of the tattered gang fights Inuyasha in an effort to control him.


	9. Pieces of the Same Soul

Chapter Eight left Sesshomaru and Kagome each questioning exactly what it was that kept pulling them together. And Kikyou returned to Inuyasha, seemingly just in time.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Nine – Pieces of the Same Soul

Kikyou walked over to the trio, who were standing far enough away from Inuyasha to make their escape if necessary. She put a cold hand on Miroku, who jumped slightly. Even though she was a pretty woman, this was one female he never had any intention of dabbling with. "Are we all in agreement, then?"

Miroku nodded. "Do what you have to do, Lady Kikyou. Let's get him back to normal. We cannot go to his brother with him all out of control like this."

She dropped her hand as quickly as she dropped her smile. _Of course. We wouldn't want his precious Kagome to see him like this, now would we?_ She turned and faced Inuyasha, who had seemed to calm a little. His eyes were still glowing red and his claws dripped with the blood of two dozen demons, but he did not seem ready to attack. Slowly, Kikyou walked over to Inuyasha, as if even she were a little scared of him. _After all, this body is more fragile than the one I am supposed to have. One wrong step now and all I have fought for will be worthless._

She stopped about 10 steps in front of him, squaring off with him face to face. He just stood there, looking deep into her eyes. As if he were trying to recognize something. Anything. _He doesn't know who I am! This will never work if he doesn't recognize me._ She was about to turn tail and run, when something he did captured her eye. He sniffed.

Sango noticed it too. "I think she may be starting to get through," she whispered in Miroku's ear. He gave a slight bow of his head, not taking his eyes off of the whole, slightly macabre scene.

Kikyou took a few small steps closer, her eyes never leaving his. "Inuyasha..." She had a new plan now. She was no longer going to seduce him back to his normal self. _He doesn't even know it is me. Perhaps he doesn't associate my scent with me anymore, but with..._ She was close enough to him to whisper without anyone hearing, "It's me. Kagome."

His eyes sparked at the mention of her name. _I know that name. _He closed his eyes as his human half deep within him tried to focus his attention on who was before him. _I came here looking for her. Now she is here, and I can relax._ But something else inside of him would not let him relax. Something wasn't quite right with what this woman was telling him.

Inuyasha sniffed again. _It is Kagome's scent, but... there is something else there. Something else I recognize. It smells like death._ He opened his eyes, and focused his sights on the woman before him.

Kikyou used all the magical skills she could possess and made Inuyasha believe that he was seeing Kagome before him. She gave her best impression of Kagome's sheepish grin, and put her hand on his cheek.

_Why is she so cold?_ She sensed his reluctance to accept her as Kagome, and decided it was time to go a little farther. "Inuyasha. Please recognize me. I have missed you so much." She leaned forward and placed a feather-light kiss on his lips.

The shock of he kiss gave his human self time to take over his mind again. When she backed away from him, he collapsed to the ground. "Inuyasha!" Sango and Shippo ran forward to see to him, and they both placed their arms around him.

"Inuyasha, we were so worried about you. I thought you had finally gone completely demon. You looked so scary..." Shippo ceased his prattling when Sango bopped him on the back of the head. _She's right. The last thing he needs right now is to be reminded of what he had become. And what he had done._

But, Inuyasha remembered. He remembered that his anger over Sesshomaru taking something he saw as his property had turned him into something ugly. _Something I always accused my brother of being. A soulless demon that would kill anything in his way without a thought. And worst of all, I never once thought of Kagome's safety. I only wanted him to return what's mine._ He lowered his head into his hands, quickly bringing it back up again when the overpowering stench of blood on them threatened to make him sick.

"I need a bath."

Miroku was the first one to laugh at this sign. "I agree, you stink, Inuyasha. But we haven't much time. Make it quick."

Inuyasha darted out of the embrace of his friends and flew across the ground to a river not far away. Sango looked up at Kikyou, who had been standing silently by, doing nothing. "How did you do it? I really didn't think you could."

She smiled. _I am not about to tell that stupid slayer that I had to pretend to be his precious Kagome to wake him up._

Miroku knew what she had done, but wisely decided to keep it to himself. "It doesn't matter. What matters now is that we find Sesshomaru and free Kagome. Goodness knows if she is safe. Or what he is doing to her."

"I know exactly where she is. I can feel her in my blood." Kikyou smiled to herself. _And I know exactly what he is doing to her. She doesn't seem to mind one bit._

_

* * *

_

Rin walked silently into Kagome's room, trying hard not to make any noise. She had seen Kagome walk around for the last four days, and not once had she knocked anything over. _She is perfect. I want to be just like her. Maybe Sesshomaru-sama will like me more that way._ She walked over to the ochre dresser where Kagome's brush and mirror were.

After looking back to make sure that she was still asleep on the plush tatami, she picked up Kagome's brush and started to pull it through her hair. Not rough like she used to, she had been told that she needed a softer touch. A woman's touch. Ever since her first day of training, when she had heard Kagome mutter, "It is any wonder you are as girlie as you are, being raised by two male demons," Rin had tried her hardest to act just like Kagome.

Rin stared at herself in the mirror, wondering what she will look like when she grows up. She had very pretty jet black hair. Kagome had said so herself. And her eyes were... Rin looked into her eyes. What color were they? She thought so hard that she couldn't stop herself from saying it out loud. "Browny-black." But, Rin didn't even realize that she had said anything. She just kept brushing her hair, pretending to be Kagome.

The soft words Rin spoke had managed to wake Kagome up. She opened her eyes and saw two little feet in front of her, facing the other direction. She looked up and watched as the little girl did her best to act like a grown-up. Rin lifted her chin a little and sucked in her cheeks. _Is this what she thinks I look like?_ Kagome quickly put a hand to her mouth to stop a giggle from escaping. It was obvious to her that this little girl was taking her preening very seriously.

She slowly sat up on the comforter, careful not to distract Rin. Letting the girl have a few more moments with the mirror, she coughed to let the girl know she was waking. Immediately, Rin put the brush down and turned, a brilliant smile on her face. "You are awake! Are you ready to medicate?"

This time she couldn't help but laugh. "You mean meditate?" Rin lowered her head, and Kagome felt instantly contrite. "I'm sorry Rin. What you said was so cute. I wasn't laughing at you, I promise."

Rin looked over at Kagome again, who wasn't smiling anymore. She let a little laugh bubble forth and ran out the door to the courtyard.

Kagome sighed. _How am I ever going to get out of this mess? That girl idolizes me. I recognize hero-worship when I see it._ She stood and walked over to the mirror, brushing out the night's sleep from her hair. _I have a little of it myself._ The brush froze in her hair as she said that to herself. She forced her eyes to blink and stiltedly resumed brushing. _Okay, I can admit it. I like him. He is rude, mean, angry all the time... A lot like his brother._ A laugh escaped at that thought._ Keh! These brothers are so alike that sometimes it is scary. No wonder I am falling for Sesshomaru. I feel like I already know him...Falling for him? When did that happen?_

She threw the brush onto the dresser with a jerk, ripping open a drawer to pull out a new kimono to wear. This one was a light pink, traced with undulating little vines and interspersed with red cherries. _I wonder why Jaken would pick this one? _She looked outside at the courtyard before closing the door to dress, and caught sight of Rin's attire. The little girl was wearing an identical kimono. _I bet he didn't, but I bet she did._ She shook her head and turned back into the room.

As she changed from her night clothes into the pink kimono, her mind would not stop churning. _I need to be very careful here. I am getting too comfortable. It has only been for days, not quite enough time for the gang to get here and save me. I am sure they will be here any time now. But, I keep thinking like I intend to stay here the rest of my life. Last night I fell asleep planning out the next few months with Rin. Few months! How long do I intend to let him keep me here?_

Kagome stilled her hands for a moment as she was tying the sash at her waist. _Well, to be perfectly honest, I forced myself to think about that so my mind would stop thinking about...that kiss._ She moaned and pulled the sash closed hard, choking her. She grumbled as she loosened it to a more comfortable position. _Why did he do it this time? Because I got so angry at his refusal to use my name? No, he still warned me to watch what I say around him. And I have to agree. I haven't heard one harsh word come out of his mouth. It is the way he says it that stings so much. If I could evoke that kind of fear with a few words, I wouldn't feel the need to protect myself from him by cussing..._

_Protect myself from what? _She walked over to the far side of the room, where she kept her shoes, taking her time to put them on. _He seemed angry at first, but he quickly changed his tune. The way he caressed my forehead with his chin, and smelled my hair..._ A bodily shiver ran over her as she remembered how his holding her made her feel.

Then she remembered why she tried to get away._ This is wrong! He hates humans, he has said it before. Therefore, he hates me. He is only doing this to me to keep a hold of me. I know he would never hurt Rin. Would he?_

"That's it. I need to talk to him. Confront him and get this all out in the open. It may not be bothering him, but it sure as hell is bothering me." Without giving a thought to exactly what was bothering her, she left her room and walked down the hallway towards his wing, forgetting about the courtyard completely. Rin was oblivious, now fully entrenched in her meditation. With Jaken not too far away from her, standing stock still and pointing his staff at her in readied defense.

As she got closer to what she was told was his private quarters, she got the distinct impression that not too many people had walked down this hall. It was enormous, much larger than the other parts of the castle. Not that she had seen them all; she never found time to go much further than the wing she was in. But this place looked newer, as if it had been untouched. Or unused. She felt a wind blow past her feet and amble in front of her, playing with a few loose oak leaves.

The wind wafted towards Sesshomaru, catching his attention. He had not slept all night, thinking about this girl. And now, as if in response to a silent summons, she was coming to him. He grunted and shifted his position underneath the large tree so that he was facing away from her when she came in. _Now is not the time for her to confront me. _He was still well aware of what transpired the night before. It was the only thing that had been on his mind these last few hours.

"I know that you have been told not to come in here." He didn't even look at her when she entered the section of hallway overlooking the courtyard.

It took her a moment to see him, because she was overwhelmed by the size of the courtyard he was in. _This is huge. Big enough for... well, duh. For a large dog to have room to move._ She saw him sitting at the base of a large oak tree, which seemed to curve to his body. He was facing away from her staring at the ground. She waited for a moment for him to turn and look at her. But he gave no other knowledge of her presence; just those few words of warning.

"No one told me not to come here. Jaken just told me that this was where you stayed." She felt the defenses rising in her again. _What for? He has done nothing that warrants defense. It is proactive dear. We know how you feel when you are near him._

This time he tilted his head slightly, taking her in. _She looks like Rin in that thing._ "That should be warning enough to you. You do not want to come in here." _That color does make her look different, though. Almost nice...Stop it._

She took another step towards him, which placed her in the courtyard. She was trying to look unafraid, but he could sense that she was scared... of something. But, to his interest, not of him. "I need to talk to you."

He let out a huff of air. "We will talk later, when I come to you."

"It is important."

"I said..." He heard his own voice rising in agitation. _Damn, but this girl is changing me._ He took a deep breath and continued on an even keel. "What is so important that you risk life and limb to come and talk to me?"

Kagome cocked her head at that response. Without thinking she replied, "You wouldn't hurt me. Not just for walking in here. That is insane."

His head fully rose up to look at her when she said this. She seemed completely confident of what she had just said. _And I don't think she realized that she was going to say it. How did she find that out so quickly?_ "I do not like repeating myself, Kagome. Why are you here?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly her tongue was dry. _He said my name! Wait... why am I here?_ She had forgotten to confront him about Rin's life. She had forgotten about all her anger the moment he had said her name.

And he knew it. Sesshomaru smiled at the open-mouthed Kagome._ If I had known that she could be silenced with a single word, I would have done it long ago._ He decided to try and help her out a little. "Is it about your quarters?" She mutely shook her head, her expression still blank. "About Jaken? Is he bothering you again?" Another shake of the head. "Is it about Rin, then?"

Sesshomaru knew he shouldn't have said it the moment it was out of his mouth. He knew that the only reason she was still here was the threat of ending Rin's life he held over her. Her face changed with frustration as she blurted out, "You cannot kill Rin! She adores you."

He stood quickly, looking at her calmly. "Are you leaving, then?" He tried to ignore the rising of his pulse when he asked this, not wanting to understand right now why those words brought a foreign feeling of panic to his soul.

"No..."

He sighed softly then. "Then I won't."

She stamped her foot in agitation, her whole body rigid. "But even if I were, you can't kill her!"

Sesshomaru cocked his head to the side. "Why not?"

Her teeth bared in an effort to control her anger._ Why is he acting like such a child? Does he want me to attack him?_ "Because you can't, that's why."

He took a couple of steps closer to her. She stood her ground. "I can do whatever I want here. This is my castle, not yours. Don't forget that."

She stepped towards him, forgetting her place as a prisoner. "I don't care what if this is your castle. If you think you can kill that girl on a whim, you have another think coming, mister."

He raised his eyebrow and looked down at her. "Mister? What does that mean?"

"It means you are an ass," she said through clenched teeth, "if you think that killing her would do you any good at all."

Another step closer to her. "Watch your mouth, miko. You tread on dangerous ground."

"All it would do is prove what a monster you really are!"

He grabbed her chin, his claws pointing into her skin slightly. "I warned you to watch your mouth around me. You think me a monster? Well, then..." He claimed her lips before he even finished his statement. And, again this kiss was different from the others. It was heavily laced with frustration. His lips crushed hers, his hand forcing her head back so he could reach her mouth more easily.

She just stood there, unable to believe what he was doing again. _I can't believe this is happening again? Is this his way of punishing? Why do I get myself into these things?_ As he kept bruising her lips, his tongue made its way past her teeth to fight with hers. She sighed as frustration was also creeping up her. Her one hand grabbed his arm roughly as the other grabbed a fistful of his clothing, effectively holding him to her.

Through the haze his mind was now in, he noticed that she was now holding him, and moved his hand from her waist to capture her waist. He pulled her roughly up to him, with her feet barely touching the ground. _She is not going to get away this time._ His hair fell around her head in silvery billows as his tongue continued to combat hers.

Kagome barely noticed that her feet were no longer touching the ground, or that they were turning in another direction. All she knew is that she could feel every inch of him pressed against her. Her hand inched up his sleeve, using her nails to make sure her grip never loosened enough for him to get away.

Had that been his intention. He had no intention of letting go either, as he slowly dropped to his knees, again under the large oak tree. She felt the ground come up to meet her legs, and also felt him quickly pushing her back, putting her in a reclining position against the rough bark of the old tree. His grip lessened on her waist and she felt his hand trail around it to the knot in her sash. As soon as he touched it, the sash flew out of the way and he quickly spread the kimono out. Sesshomaru eased her hand off of his arm and through her sleeve, after which it quickly resumed its position, a steel grip pressing into his flesh. He did the same to her other arm, then leaned over her, pressing her slowly down onto the ground.

When her head hit the ground, her mind came to a sort of fuzzy wakefulness. She realized that she was lying on her kimono with his body covering her now naked one. And she felt the delicious feeling of his hand washing over her breasts, lightly raking his claws on the pinkened skin. His legs were on either side of hers, Pinning her underneath him, and pressing her down onto the ground beneath him. She tried to concentrate on why this was wrong, but as his lips began to leave soft kisses on the corners of her mouth, she forgot what she was protesting against. Instead, Kagome returned his kisses with soft ones of her own.

He pulled up slightly, and changed directions to deeply kiss her neck. Her breathing was ragged, but he could hear her trying to at least voice a protest. "Please, we can't..."

"But we are," he said against her throat. His hot breath on her now slick throat made her moan, arching her back to try to relieve the tight pain it brought to her stomach. When she did, she came in intimate contact with his torso. She stopped dead in her tracks at this feeling, now knowing that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Kagome despised herself for feeling this way, but could think of nothing to do to stop it.

Sesshomaru could sense that she was about to protest again, so he silenced her forthcoming words with what seemed like an endless variety of kisses, ranging from savagely impatient to slow and liquid. He explored her the shape of her lips, the texture of her tongue. At the same time, she felt a sense of play come into his fingers. Almost teasingly slow, they began to play with the overly sensitive peaks of her nipples until she was gasping for air. Kagome felt torn between the need to be free of him and the need to be free with him; of being afraid to let go and desperately needing to let go. _I can't believe this is actually happening... and that I want it to happen! God, how I want it..._What he did to her with the erotic pressures and probing of his fingers left no doubt in her mind that he was demonic.

He seemed to know where she needed to be touched, creating sensations in her she never knew existed. Kagome began to arch repeatedly up against him as he stopped his exploring long enough to removing his clothing. His mouth never left hers as he did this, as if were afraid it would break the spell. His knee slid between her legs as his hand danced around her belly and lower, causing a sharp intake of breath and an involuntary movement of her legs to accommodate him. She was still begging him to be closer with her body, and almost welcomed the sharp stab that entered her body and made her cry out in pain against his lips. Soon, the feeling was replaced by a feeling that she could only label as pain, although it didn't really hurt. It did make her start to emit choked moans and animal sounds that she didn't even recognize as her own. She vaguely heard the growling and moaning he was making in unison with hers as he rocked her with him. His hand now stayed at the small of her back, pressing her further into him as he pushed her onto the ground.

_More...more..._was the only thought that kept running through her head now, as she relished the motion of his body over hers and the feeling of him inside her, filling an emptiness she had not realized she had inside her. He chanted the same thoughts in his head as he quickened his pace with her, needing her to fill his emptiness as well. Her arms laced in his hair, pushing his mouth hard onto hers as if she were trying to devour her. Blinding passion took over them both together, and he released her mouth to howl in ecstasy as he let himself finally go. She said nothing, but held her eyes open and on him, relishing the temporary power she wielded over him.

From here, free-falling back to reality was a wake-up call for both of them. Kagome suddenly became conscious of everything. The rumbled kimono beneath her, and the other pile of rumpled clothing flung out of arms reach to her left. His body still nestled between her legs, and the full weight of his torso pressing down onto her. Not to mention that he was still a part of her. She turned her head from the rumpled clothes and caught him looking down at her, with a lazy smile on his face. _If he says anything cruel now, I know I will not be able to take it._

But, Sesshomaru did not say anything. He too knew that anything they said would ruin the moment. Instead, he brought his mouth down to warmly nuzzle the soft, sensitive juncture between neck and shoulder. A moan escaped her lips before she could stop it. A new emotion welled up inside of her. _Why is he suddenly so pefect? _As thoughts flooded her mind, giving her rational and irrational reasons why they should have left well enough alone, hot tears began to drop down the sides of her face. _I don't know if I can handle this._

When Sesshomaru felt a tear hit his cheek, he looked up. What he did not expect to see was Kagome weeping silently, her eyes pressed firmly closed. But that is what he saw, which gave him the wrong impression. _She hates me for that. She couldn't count on my control and can't stand for me to touch her._ He quietly but quickly got up, grabbed his clothes, and left the castle entirely. Leaving Kagome naked and wretchedly sobbing underneath his oak tree.

* * *

Coming Soon – Chapter Ten – Glory in Darkness

Kikyou is able to calm Inuyasha, but Miroku fears she is here for ulterior reasons. Jaken learns of all the damage Inuyasha has done to the Western Lands and reports to Sesshomaru. Rin tries to be just like Kagome, mirroring her every move. And, Kagome tells Sesshomaru she is going home.


	10. Glory in Darkness

Chapter Nine found Sesshomaru and Kagome in a very compromising situation, compounded by their differing feelings for each other. Or are they so very different? Kikyou agreed to join the group under the guise of healing Inuyasha from his demonic afflictions.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Ten – Glory in Darkness

Rin roused herself from the morning's meditation to notice that Kagome was nowhere in sight. She started to get up, but fell over because her legs had gone numb. "Oh!" She almost started to cry, until she heard a little toady giggle coming from her right. She looked over and saw Jaken, who just straightened and re-aimed his staff of two heads at her. When he did this, he noticed that his feet had gone numb from the crooked posture he had taken getting ready for Rin's attack. He fell flat on his face, his staff springing out of his hands and upending in the little herb garden that she had started yesterday. Rin burst out laughing, feeling better about her numb limbs.

She got up, finally, and stomped up and down until tingly feeling returned to her toes. She walked over and opened Kagome's door, figuring that she hadn't finished getting ready, yet. She walked in, finding the room empty. Her night gown on a heap by the tatami, and her shoes gone. _Where did she go? I didn't see her._ Rin turned to Jaken and said very softly "Where is Kagome-sama?"

Before he replied he hobbled on his still numb feet over to the little garden and plucked his staff out, shaking off the herbs that were uprooted with it. "Hey! Be careful. Kagome-sama has not even seen that yet."

Jaken snorted. "Nor will she, if she went where I think she went. While you were over there sleeping, I watched Kagome head towards the Master's private wing. You know as well as I that no one goes in there and lives to tell about it." He finished that last line on a laugh, then coughed as he laughed too hard.

Her eyes went wide. "I was not sleeping." Then she digested the rest of what he said. She gasped as she turned and ran at breakneck speed, for a little girl, towards Sesshomaru-sama's wing.

When she was about halfway there, it became increasingly hard to see, because tears were flying off of her face. She turned a corner, and ran straight into Kagome, who was returning to her quarters. Rin didn't notice it, but Kagome also had tears flying from her face. Both mikos fell backwards and landed flat on their butts. "Oh!" came from both directions.

Kagome was the one who got up first. _Just my luck. All that happened before, and now I have a bruised butt. And now Rin will know and not stop with her endless questions._ She wiped her tears from her face and ran a hand through her hair. _Knots everywhere._ She pulled her hair behind her head and tucked it into her kimono, hoping that Rin at least not notice that. Rin was on the floor now, crying like a baby and rubbing her little butt. It had all been too much for her. She had fallen asleep during meditation and thought Kagome was going to die. _And now I look like an idiot, knocking Kagome-sama over, and she will kill me... _

Kagome didn't know how to quiet the little girl, now that her own temper was at its zenith and she felt horribly alone. _Who am I to console a little girl? I only have a brother and grown up friends._ She picked up Rin and cushioned Rin's head on her shoulder. Kagome was still crying as they made it back to their hallway.

Jaken stopped mid stride when he saw the pair, and was at a loss as to what to do. Kagome just stared darkly at him until he finally cowed and shuffled quickly to the side. _She looked just like Lord Sesshomaru then. And if my nose does not deceive me..._ He decided wisely not to finish that thought, but went about his business. There were vassals clamoring to the main gates that Jaken was actually able to boss around. _Better than staying here in this den of iniquity._

Once Rin had finally stopped her hysterics, she noticed that she was laying on Kagome's tatami. Kagome was at the dresser, brushing knots and leaf bits from her hair. Rin rubbed her eyes and sat up, the rustling of the comforter turning Kagome's head. "Feel better?" Rin nodded sheepishly. "Good. I know I always feel better after a good cry."

She sat down on the tatami beside Rin, who was still cowering, waiting for her punishment. "Rin, what's the matter? Why are you scared of me?"

Rin sniffed very loudly before answering. "You're going to punish me, right?"

"What for?"

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I fell asleep when I was meditating, and my legs fell asleep. I laughed at Jaken and he fell over into the herb garden I was going to surprise you with this morning. And I made you fall down and hurt your butts." She gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth as she realized she just added cussing to her list of faults.

Kagome stared amazement at the little girl. "What on earth would make you think I would punish you for that?"

"Jaken gets punished all the time for smaller offenses by Sesshomaru-sama. And he punished you twice already for cussing at him. I didn't mean to make you hurt, Kagome-sama, I promise."

"Calm down, Rin. No one is going to hurt you." She put her hand on the girl's head, trying to forestall the tears she could see behind her big eyes. "I am not Sesshomaru-sama. And what happened to you today, has happened to me several times. When Kaede was teaching me to meditate, she said when I could calm myself enough to fall asleep, that I was doing a very good job. Now, I wouldn't punish you for doing a good job, would I?" Rin shook her head. "Especially when I wasn't even there." _Damn, I wish I hadn't reminded her of that._

"Where were you?"

Sigh. "I had some things to... discuss with Sesshomaru."

Rin jumped off the tatami and landed in Kagome's lap, hugging her so tight it was affecting her breathing. "Jaken told me that no one goes into his wing without dying. I thought you were dead. I was going to save you, but started crying because I didn't know how." Kagome's heart dropped from her throat to the bottom of her feet. _Rin was running to save me? If she only knew that I was here just to save her..._

"Let's go and see if we can repair the herb garden." Kagome picked up the little girl and set her on the floor. Leaning in close she added a conspiratorial remark to cheer Rin up. "And then I will let you play with Jaken again. I think he deserves a little something for making you worry like that." Rin instantly cheered up and ran out into the courtyard to fix up the little garden.

* * *

Miroku and Sango were sitting on a large rock, leaning on each other in mutual weariness. He was even too tired to take advantage of their current situation. Shippo was asleep beside Kirara, who was snoring softly. Miroku moved his eyes to where Inuyasha sat cross legged in front of the fire. He squinted and noticed that Inuyasha was asleep as well. _Yes, he is calm, but we are only a good two days away from Lord Sesshomaru's castle. And he will need a lot of rest before we get there if he is to stand a chance against his brother._

His eyes then roamed all over the area, but saw no sign of Kikyou. _Probably inhaling more lost souls. That chills me to the bone._

He started to sit up, but that made Sango fall against him, and he didn't want to wake her up. For a moment, he sat still, Sango's head leaning on his upper arm. Slowly, he shifted his arm and let her head fall slowly into his lap. _How many times have I dreamed of this very situation? And now, I am too tired even to think about doing anything about it._ With a great sigh, he lifted her head out of his lap and placed it back down onto a makeshift pillow. She let out a little moan and shifted a little to get more comfortable. He stood there, looking down at her for a moment, and then left in search of Kikyou.

It didn't take long to find her. The eerie white lights of the lost souls directed him near a lake. He didn't want to get too close, just enough to make sure she wasn't stabbing them in the back. He could, however, hear her talking to herself, although very quietly. "Come to me, my Kagome. I can hear my soul calling to me, and I will find it. Then we both will know peace." He quickly went back to the camp, afraid that what he had heard did not bode well for the troupe. _Our only hope is that we get to Kagome before she does._

A shadow on the other side of the river also retreated from Kikyou's soliloquy. The shadow turned into a black mist that moved at the speed of the nighttime winds to report to his master what he saw.

* * *

Sesshomaru finally returned to his castle, after a personal banishment to clear his head. The first thing to greet him was not Rin, jumping up and down with a little bouquet of pink flowers for him. And it was not Kagome, ready to fight again. Instead, it was Jaken, hopping from one foot to the next, screeching his name at the top of his lungs.

"My Lord, my Lord! I have such news about your brother, that hanyou Inuyasha." Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks long enough to make Jaken run for cover behind a chair. Sesshomaru let out a huff of disdain and kept on walking. _My Lord is back to normal. That filthy miko meant nothing to him!_

_Is there no where I can go where I don't have to hear about Inuyasha?_ "Tell me, Jaken, what has the idiot done now?"

Jaken resumed his position at the foot of his master. "Inuyasha was transformed when you stole his miko. He became a full blooded demon shell, and started rampaging across the Western Lands looking for you. I have gotten reports that he has killed at least a dozen demons. Probably more by now. And his group of misfits is coming this way. They should be here within the next day."

_This is not what I needed to hear. My problems with the miko will only get worse once she knows that her precious Inuyasha is near._ "Jaken. Tell no one of this. And make sure Kagome does not hear that he is nearby. I have enough problems with her as it is."

"My Lord, there is no reason for you to worry about that miko. Surely you can handle a lowly creature such as her. In fact if you ever need me to dispose of her, I would be more than happy...to..." He wisely shut his mouth as his master's foot was itching to kick the little green toad.

"I will not hear you say another word against the miko, Jaken. She has proven herself a good master for Rin, and will be staying here for a while to come." He bent down and looked the little toad almost in the eye. "I suggest you get used to it." He was gone before the little demon could grovel his foot out of his mouth.

He left the little vassal and stalked towards the wing where the mikos lived. _I will not let her run my life. She is a visitor here, and I am the Lord and master. She will not run my life. _He turned the corner, where he saw the two girls tending to a little garden in front of Kagome's room. His breath caught in his throat as he realized how much the two looked alike. Rin almost looked like Kagome's daughter. _And she is not leaving, no matter how much Inuyasha blusters._

_He's back. _Kagome felt him watching her from not too far away, but she refused to look at him. He had been gone almost two days, not leaving her any word. _He just finished with me and left me there. Not one word afterwards. Not one damn word!_ Kagome could feel the heat rising up her face, and stopped planting the worms wort before she hurt herself. She felt Rin tugging at her sleeves and noticed that she was crushing the little seedling between her fingers. She thrust the plant into Rin's hand and stood up. "I think that that is enough for today. We'll finish this later. Go and get cleaned up."

They both dusted their knees as they stood. Rin again mimicked Kagome and stretched her back before running back to her room. Kagome immediately turned around and walked to her room. She couldn't stop herself from looking at Sesshomaru as he just stood there, beside her room, looking back. But, she did manage to walk into her room and shut the door without saying anything. _Hah! I did it. I did nothing that he has a right to get angry about. I didn't even make a face. Ha, hah!_ But, she didn't feel as confident as her mind was telling her to be. Because she couldn't breathe.

Sesshomaru stood beside her room, not sure of what to do. He could hear her breath speeding up and knew she was about to cry. _Why is she crying? I have done nothing. _He leaned a little closer to the wall, but then backed off. _Why am I sneaking around here like I am a stranger here? This is my castle!_ He straightened up and walked into her room, transferring what was in his head into his mouth. "This is my castle, and I will not be treated like a misfit in it!"

"Eep!" Kagome dove down beside the dresser as she hastily tried to pull her dirty kimono back on. He blanched, forgetting what he was going to say to her and turned around. _Ugh! She did it again. She is just a human miko, and she has me bending to her will without saying a word._ He turned back around, and was a little surprised to see her standing not far from him, with her hands on her hips and legs akimbo.

"How dare you come in here? You have a lot of explaining to do." She didn't care if she angered him anymore. She was not going to stand for being treated like a possession he owned any longer.

"I have some explaining... this is MY house! I can do whatever I please. It is you who do needs to explain to me."

She looked up at him incredulously. "What do I possibly have to explain?"

_Why you did not properly greet me when I came home...Why you are ignoring me... Why you were crying after we..._ "Why you are still treating me with disrespect. I thought I had disassociated you from that notion a few days ago."

"Oh, is that what you call it? We were disassociating me from my attitude." She nodded, apparently thinking about it. She then proceeded to walk up to him and started hitting his chest with her fists.

He put his arm out in front of him and she recoiled, thinking he was going to strike her back. When he stopped to, she really began hitting him in earnest. He grabbed one of her hands, but the other kept pounding his chest. "Kagome, stop this. You are not hurting me; you are only hurting yourself."

She stopped and looked into his eyes. He did not see what he expected to see in hers; not fear, not even hatred. It was disappointment, plain and simple. He then realized what he has said, and tried to amend it. "You are not listening to me..."

"Oh, so it is not just my fault that you left me, lying there. I am also so simple that I can't hear you warning me?" She kicked him where she knew she would do some damage, and Sesshomaru instantly doubled over in pain. She backed away from him, but she was far from finished. "I hate you! You never touch me again, you hear me? I loathe you." Kagome was nearly screaming at the top of her lungs. "I don't care what you do to me. Kill me, I don't care. But I will _not_ be treated like an object by anyone anymore. Do you understand me?"

She paused for a second to catch her breath. Sesshomaru straightened up and just stood there, looking down at her with that haughty attitude that he always wore when people were nearby. Inside, however, he was completely confused. _Is that what she is angry about? She thinks I just used her, like anyone would do?_

Sesshomaru was so stunned by her outburst that he was intending to just stand there and take it. But what she said next hurt him more than any kick could ever hope to accomplish. "You are just like your brother. Do you hear me? He treated me like shit, too." She turned and started pacing across the floor, with only the tatami separating him from her wrath. Kagome did not see the anger flare in his eyes at the mention of his name. She also did not know that these two days he had been gone, one of the reasons he had been afraid come back was because she might be gone. Kagome knew that he would never hurt Rin. He never killed anyone unless they deserved it, and Rin couldn't even kill a ladybug. Sesshomaru had assumed Kagome would glean from their last meeting that he would not hurt her either. _I care too much for either of them to hurt them. Damned if I know why, at this precise moment, but I do._ He no longer questioned it; it was not his way to challenge something that had no way out. _And apparently expecting her to do the same was futile at best._

_But I am not like my brother. Inuyasha is a bastard who couldn't keep his woman and didn't want the one who drooled at his feet. He is a fop and a folly for anyone who tries to change him._ Kagome was still ranting when he crossed directly over the tatami until she heard the bamboo creak. By that time, he was close enough to grab her arm, a little more harshly than he had intended. "Cease your prattling, miko."

"Oh, you don't like that, do you Sesshomaru? Well, I don't care, it is true. He used me, and you used me. But, at least he only used my powers to spot jewel shards. You toyed with my mind, dangling a little girl's life over my head. And you used me!"

He shook her. "I did not use you, woman. You gave as well as you got."

She laughed. A slightly shrill laugh that sent chills down his spine. "Well, I had an excellent teacher. Maybe, when I return to Inuyasha, he will be grateful to you after all. For all you taught me."

Again he shook her, until her sanity began to return. _God, what was that outburst? I had sworn to myself that I wasn't going to say a word to him. Keh! Not one word, but about a hundred. Screamed at the top of my lungs._ She looked into his eyes, and realized that she had passed going to far about five minutes ago. He looked angry enough to kill. Her. _I guess the straw on his back was comparing him to Inuyasha. Well, too late Kagome. Hold your ground._

Despite her attempt to not be intimidated, the staring contest between them had her licking her suddenly dry lips and trying to stutter her way out of this. "I... didn't...I mean..."

"Oh, I think you did." He didn't let go of her, or even move. Just continued to stare down at her, his angry eyes changing from their usual gold to something much more molten. "And you are wrong."

"I am starting... to feel dizzy. I think... it would be best if.... if we parted ways for the rest of the day...until things cool down." She tried to walk back towards the dresser, but his grip on her arm jerked her back in his direction, slamming against his chest. _Maybe not._

"You don't feel dizzy, and we both know it. Quit playing games with me, miko." His voice was a little husky, but Kagome couldn't tell if it was from the argument or something else. He still looked murderously angry with her.

"This...this..." Kagome's shoulders drooped in defeat. "This isn't going to work, Sesshomaru. One of us is going to kill the other. We are bound to. You hate humans. You have told both me and Inuyasha that they are good for nothing but slaughter. And I cannot live with someone who feels that way. Let me go home." The tears stinging the back of her eyes finally fell free.

"No." The grip on her arm tightened as she was speaking and now it was so intense that she whimpered in pain. He looked down and saw his white knuckles, immediately releasing her arm. But she did not move. Something was rooting her to the ground, even though she realized this may be her only chance to escape.

_I just want to hear him say that he wants me to stay. He needs me to stay. I want to hear him say that he needs me; not my damn miko powers._

_What a stubborn termagant she was. But, I wonder what is going on in her head. Is she thinking of him? Panting to return to him? Inuyasha?_ "You will not be leaving until I allow you to. You have not fulfilled your role here, so get any inclinations of _teaching _Inuyasha out of your head." He grabbed her by the nape of the neck so swiftly that she didn't even have time to breathe, and pulled her to his hungry mouth. He kissed her roughly, fighting to quell the sudden rush of anger that welled up in him when he thought of her doing this to his brother. It took all of his effort not to strangle her, his hand was so close to doing just that. But, he did not fail to notice that underneath his hand, her pulse was racing even faster than his.

He lifted his mouth from hers and purred the next few words into her ear softly. "Give up any hope of seeing Inuyasha anytime soon, miko. Let me warn you that I tend to keep you until you have outlived your usefulness... in training Rin and others that might come along. Until that day, you will have no other master but me. Do you understand that?"

She really began to cry at that, simpering, mewling sobs that she was completely unable to control. It has been too much of an emotional day for her. Inexplicably, he turned from cruelty to infinite caring, coaxing her to stop her crying with a variety of kisses on her lips and along her jaw line. Their teasing touches and gentle caresses combined with the similar caresses of his hand on her neck and down her back worked their magic on her, making her at least calm down and stop crying. His mouth hovered over hers so closely that Kagome could almost feel the brush of her lips.

_I don't need this. Not now. I don't want to need this._ But, she knew from past experience that he would soon render her helpless. And, even though he gave her every chance to stop it, she just stood there, letting him kiss her and hold her gently to him. She did nothing when he lowered both of them to the floor. Nothing to stop him when he put her arms around his shoulders and kissed her so deeply that her soul ached when his lips left hers. Nothing but hold him closer to her.

Her protests died quickly in her mind as he began to explore her body again. This time he teased and caressed everywhere with his lips and his tongue; an agonizingly slow voyage of discovery during which his wayward mouth would wander to suck and nibble at her most sensitive places until she was driven mindless with desire.

Kagome felt as if she were rudderless, twisting and shifting under him, no notion of conscience or inhibitions. She responded to him freely and fiercely. She let him put his mouth wherever he wanted, to do whatever he wanted. Even when she felt the movements of his tongue inside her and the smoothness of his cheeks against the most sensitive point of all. She raked her hands through his hair, holding him there while her body convulsed in spasms that didn't seem to stop.

Not even when he moved his body upward over hers and guided himself into her, and he moved to whisper soft mumbled words in her ear, most of which she couldn't later remember, did she protest. Not when he began to pick up speed and grated harder against her did she tell him again to leave her alone. Not when he buried his face in the soft tangle of hair at her neck. Not when he growled out her name, and felt the shudder of his body as he enlarged and throbbed inside her did she stage another protest against his treatment of her.

She was so exhausted after that that she barely noticed that he had again left her body. But, this time he had covered them both up with the pink and gold comforter, returning to lay by her side. He smoothed the sweat-damp hair off of her face as she began to fall asleep. The last thing she remembered before unconsciousness was him kissing her goodnight.

Unfortunately for both of them, she remembered everything she had wanted to say when she woke up the next morning. She hadn't the energy to fight him anymore, so she quietly got up and dressed. She didn't even try to comb her tangled mass of hair again. _There is no way I can get a brush through this until it is washed._ Kagome tried to remain calm as she finished tying the sash of her kimono. Then she went over to the other side of the tatami to retrieve her shoes.

Sesshomaru had been awake the instant he had felt her heat leave his side. He wanted to say something, but he decided to enjoy the pleasant feeling of this intimate moment, watching her get dressed. He even suppressed a major smile as he saw her consternation with her hair. He decided that she was getting ready for a bath until he saw her collecting nothing.

Kagome sensed that he was awake. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. She was tired of examining every little thought that ran through her head. There were just too many of them. And look where it had gotten her so far._ Nowhere._

She turned to him, stunned for a moment at the sight of seeing him lying on her tatami, knowing he was completely naked, but seeing only what the comforter at his waist would allow her to see. Her heart constricted, because she knew she would not be able to take any more of this. She looked him straight in the eyes and said "I am going home. Not to Inuyasha. I am returning to the well. Now." And she left through the door without even bothering to close it. Or say goodbye to Rin. Or him. And he was, to put it simply, too stunned to do a damn thing about it.

* * *

Coming soon – Chapter Eleven – Familial Ties

Sesshomaru traps Kagome through her motherly feelings for Rin. Kikyou continues to travel with the troupe, even though Miroku doubts her pledged intentions. They finally come across Sesshomaru at a mountain pass. The brothers vent their frustrations there.


	11. Familial Ties

Chapter Ten left Sesshomaru reeling from the revelation that Kagome didn't feel the same way he did. Miroku begins to suspect that there is more to Kikyou than meets the eye. And Jaken informed Sesshomaru of Inuyasha's transgressions on his lands.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Eleven – Familial Ties

Kagome had been wandering throughout these halls for about twenty minutes now, and was beginning to give up hope of ever getting out of here. After walking quickly but purposefully past her hallway and turned at the entrance to Sesshomaru's wing, her eyes became too blinded by tears to see straight. And she was sure that she had doubled back at least once. She stopped and tried to compose herself. _Take a deep breath, Kagome. You can do this. Just walk out of here and get your life back together._

She felt a song in the air. The hairs on the back of her head stood on end at the languorous, eerie melody that seemed to be coming from her head. Kagome did not understand what it meant, but it seemed to pull her through the remainder of the halls to the final door leading to the outside world and freedom. A heavy door composed of dark wood and wrought iron, laced with jade and obsidian figurines was now all that stood between her and freedom. _Freedom_. She put a hand up to the heavy door, still unable to shake the eerie music from her mind. _What is that music, pulling me to go outside? I have heard this before, I know it. And I was afraid._

"Kagome." She had thought that she had imagined the voice behind her. _It can't be. He wouldn't dare try to keep me here now. Not after what he's done._ "Kagome."

She turned around and saw Sesshomaru, in his full regalia, standing at the entrance to the west wing, the miko wing as he called it. _He looked so imposing, so far away. And so impossible to reach._ She had to concentrate to keep the tears from flowing free again. _I have been crying too much lately, and I will _not_ cry again. Not in front of him._

He stepped forward, but not close enough to touch her. "You cannot leave."

A heavy sigh broke from her lips. "You cannot be serious. I cannot stay here. It will kill me. Why can't you understand that."

Sesshomaru heard the conflict in his voice. But he also knew that there was nothing he could do at this moment to stop it. "We had an arrangement, you and I."

A laugh. "I think that the 'arrangement' has been altered."

A shadow of a smile danced across his face at her words. "Nothing has changed. If you don't stay here, there is no reason for Rin to stay."

She rose her hands in sheer frustration above her head, pleading for the strength not to start hitting him again. "You can't do this to me. I know you love her. It is obvious in the way you treat her. Even if you never found a trainer for her, she would still live."

He stepped slightly to the side, revealing a very bleary-eyed Rin. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Kagome. She smiled for a moment, then changed it to a frown when she realized what Kagome was doing. "Where are you going?"

He never took his eyes off of Kagome. "Can you be so sure, Kagome? Would you be willing to take that kind of risk on her life?" Kagome kept her eyes on Rin, and he could see all kinds of emotions wash over her face. Love was definitely among them. His breath caught when he realized that he suddenly felt very jealous that she would love Rin so easily and unconditionally. For a moment, just a moment, he felt the basest demon form in him want to rise up and kill Rin, and Inuyasha, just because she loved them. _And not me._

Her words were barely a whisper. "You cannot be serious?" He said nothing. "You wouldn't kill Rin... you couldn't..." She immediately stopped as Rin began to understand what they were talking about. Rin looked from Sesshomaru to Kagome and back again, wanting someone to tell her that it was just a silly game between the two of them. When no one did, she began to run to Kagome, the one that wanted to save her, out of pure instinct.

Sesshomaru's pride was now mortally wounded, as both mikos seemed to want to escape him. A clawed hand quickly snaked out and grabbed Rin's shoulder, keeping her near him. She released a choked sob, but did not try to run again. Kagome didn't know what to think anymore. _Sometimes he is the most stubborn, cruel man I have ever met. And yet, there are glimpses of a kind soul in there somewhere. I know it. But I can't take a chance that he might be angry enough at my leaving to hurt the girl. She idolizes him like a father._

His claws gently but firmly turned Rin around and let her run down the hallway to her room. He stepped closer to Kagome, knowing that she was trapped again under the impression that he would kill his ward. "We have lots to discuss, you and I. But I must leave on business temporarily. Raiders on my land have killed many vassals, which demand justice. You will stay here until I return, and we will discuss this further then." He watched her shoulders go limp in defeat before adding out of spite. "Perhaps by then you will have come up with a plausible reason why you might be able to leave with your life."

Before she could retort to that cutting remark, he took to the skies and went out of sight, following the trail of some not-too-distant raiders. And Kagome sunk to the floor of the main courtyard, too exhausted from all that went on today to even cry anymore.

* * *

"The path is over here!" Shippo yelled. He found the little rocky path that Kikyou swore was out here. _This is the only way across the mountain? It looks almost like we're going to go through it. _He waited until the others turned the corner and found him before bouncing back on Kirara's back.

"I still don't understand why I don't just run up there first. He's had her there for almost a week! There is no telling what he's done to her."

Kikyou smiled to herself. _I know what he has done to Kagome. Tsk tsk, girl._ But she quickly hid her smile when Miroku turned towards her. "I can feel her aura, and it is as strong as ever. Whatever has gone on up there, he has not hurt her."

"Besides," Sango chimed in, "we can't let you go up there alone. You risk becoming full demon again. And you will not be able to control yourself again. You would also tire out to quickly, because your urges then are to fight until you die."

"Uh, guys..."

Miroku ignored the kitsune and agreed with Sango. "She is right. We will go together and we will fight together. That is the only way we have a chance against Sesshomaru." He turned to Kikyou. "Is that not right, Lady Kikyou?"

"Yes, of course," she said, but her face was dour, as if she had swallowed something bitter. _Insipid monk._

"Guys..."

"Well, I still think it would be better if you and I went up there as fast as we could. We could fight him, Miroku, and then Sango, Kirara and Kikyou would come in after we tire him out and help finish him off."

"INUYASHA!" Shippo finally managed to get their attention. He was stiff as a board, looking up at the mountain's path. Sesshomaru stood there, listening to all that had transgressed.

_Stupid little brother. Impatient as always._ "Inuyasha. I believe you wanted to fight me quickly? You will never learn, little brother, that your impatience will be your downfall." He made no move towards his brother, but the hand hanging at his side gleamed with the eerie green of his poison whip, ready and itching to hurt something.

Inuyasha smiled, his fangs gleaming in the evening sun. "Fine by me. I'll fight you anywhere, anytime." He stood still as well, but it was obvious to everyone that he was propping his legs to jump at Sesshomaru. "Why did you take Kagome? What have you done to her?"

To everyone's astonishment, a brief smile passed his lips before returning to his usual, stoic self. "I have done nothing to her." _Nothing that you need to worry about, anyway._ "I took her because she is too powerful to be left in your care. Little boys tend to break their toys."

This jibe seemed to make Inuyasha mad, and he jumped at Sesshomaru, drawing his Tetsusaiga. "Wind scar!" He yelled, hurtling his blade in Sesshomaru's direction. Sesshomaru easily jumped out of the way, and the power of the sword was instead focused on the path, which quickly collapsed under the onslaught.

In retaliation, Sesshomaru quickly flicked his first two fingers back and forth, lashing Inuyasha on his back with his poisonous whip. He then moved out of the way as Inuyasha yelled and brought the Tetsusaiga again down to hit him. This time he managed to dislodge a few heavy boulders and send them hurtling down towards Sango and Kikyou. Miroku quickly pushed the girls out of the way, barely managing to save himself as well.

"Come now, brother. Your anger seems to have made you sloppy. That Tetsusaiga is still too heavy for you to bear. You can barely hold it over your head."

"Oh yeah? Watch this. Yah!" He brought the blade down a little faster this time, managing to catch the tip of Sesshomaru's ruff and searing it off. Inuyasha smiled at this. _He is slowing down already. This isn't going to take long at all._ "Bring her back! She doesn't belong to you, Sesshomaru!"

His anger at the truth behind those words made his flick of the whip especially harsh as it cracked on Inuyasha's shoulder, splitting open the red cloth and bathing his arm in blood. "Neither does she belong to you. She is a free girl, as she has often reminded me. She can stay or not. I left the choice up to her."

This caught the monk's attention. "Kagome stayed of her own free will? What did you tell her? That if she didn't stay you would kill her?"

Sesshomaru artfully dodged another of Inuyasha's attacks before answering that question. _I think the monk is a little too perceptive for his own good._ "I merely told her that if she would not train up Rin, then I would no longer have any reason to keep her around."

Shippo was the one to pick up on that twist of words. "You said you would kill the little girl if she did not teach Rin? How awful!"

Sango questioned the truth of what Sesshomaru said. "Train her for what? Kagome is not a teacher."

"She is a miko. And Rin also has these abilities. That is why she is with me."

"You are a coward to force Kagome by holding a girl's life over her head. What, were you not able to keep her there otherwise?" Inuyasha snarled as he said this, knowing that he had struck a blow to his pride. And it worked. Even though no emotion crossed his face, Sesshomaru was now attacking instead of defending._ Now he is playing on my field. He is always telling me not to attack blindly. And now, if I didn't know better, I would say that he was attacking out of rage. Pure rage. I can see it in his eyes._

It was true. Sesshomaru's eyes were starting to change from his beautiful gold to a scarlet red, meaning that his baser nature was beginning to take hold of him. _I will not let this puppy take from me what I have worked hard for. I saw her first and she is now mine. I will not let her go back to him!_ The force of these thoughts were beginning to take over his more rational, strategic thinking.

Sango and Miroku both noticed the almost immediate change in Sesshomaru. "Don't you think we should help Inuyasha? I mean, he has made Sesshomaru loose his temper, which he never does." Sango was beginning to get genuinely worried.

Miroku nodded, brandishing his normally peaceful staff as a weapon. "I agree. Sesshomaru seems to be fighting more like Inuyasha, out of anger and without preamble. This makes Inuyasha more predictable, but I believe it will make Lord Sesshomaru more dangerous."

Kikyou had been stepping back little by little as the battle progressed. She had no intention of actually fighting to save the miko. _I never said I would help them get her back. Just that I would help them find her. The rest is their battle and none of my concern._ She backed herself to the corner that they had come from, so she could make an escape, should the battle turn against Inuyasha and his troupe.

She heard a slight rustle of leaves behind her. Turning, she saw a figure that she knew well from previous encounters. _A spy? Or an assassin?_

"What are you doing here?"

The form backed up a little, but gave a short bow. "Forgive me for spying, Lady Kikyou. But my master has heard of Inuyasha's rampage on his brother's lands. I was sent to see if the rumors are true." Looking to the battle between the two brothers, the spy countered "I see that they are. Brother against brother again."

Kikyou smiled. "Yes. And I fear that this time it may be a battle to the death."

A cocked eyebrow. "How do you figure that?"

"Because they are fighting for the oldest reason in the world. They are both fighting over a girl."

They both stood in silence for a moment. "You don't seem to be too troubled about that. I though you had feelings for the hanyou?"

Kikyou digested the words for a moment before replying, a little more harshly than she wanted. "That was before he let me die. That was before he decided that he didn't want me anymore." She calmed down before continuing. "Anyway, it is a moot subject. The girl will not be there much longer."

"Oh?"

"Yes. But I cannot say more. Not now. And not here. That damned monk seems to know that I am up to something and will not leave me alone for more than three minutes."

"I will return again at a more opportune time. We can discuss the matter further. I have some news on the miko that you may need to know." The form in the shadow bowed again to Kikyou before disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Kikyou turned around to face the battle again. Inuyasha's right arm was slashed three times by the poisonous whip, and he was barely able to bring the Tetsusaiga over his head. Sango and Miroku were double teaming the demon in an effort to let Inuyasha catch his breath. Shippo just sat there watching, as usual, not knowing quite where to go.

And the demon at the center of the commotion was very close to becoming more like his brother... and completely losing control. Over a silly girl.

* * *

Coming Soon – Chapter Twelve – Enter Minions

While Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are embroiled in a vicious battle, Kikyou slips away to find Kagome and her own reasons. She is waylaid by a bearer of bitter news, who helps her formulate a better plan.


	12. Enter Minions

In Chapter Eleven, Sesshomaru once again convinces Kagome to stay, sure that she would not stay without a threat of physical violence. And Inuyasha and the crew meet Sesshomaru on a secluded mountain pass, beginning a battle for dominance over the tired miko.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Twelve – Enter Minions

"Yaah!!!" Sango yelled at the top of her lungs as she flung her weapon at Sesshomaru with all the force she could muster. _I don't know how much longer we can go on like this. We have been fighting him for over an hour, and he doesn't seem to show any sign of letting up. Yet, all of us are growing so tired._

Miroku was thinking the same thing as he jumped to avoid Sesshomaru's poisonous whip. But, he was also thinking about Kikyou's lack of involvement in this fight. _She led us here, right to this mountain pass, which she swears is the only way to get to his castle. Yet, from the accounts we had from the villagers, there were other, less dangerous ways to get there. If I didn't know better, I would think she led us here because it would be the most problematic place to fight Lord Sesshomaru._

There was little time to do much thinking after that, as another volley of attack came his way. Sesshomaru was definitely gaining the upper hand in this fight, but was beginning to lose the battle within him. His control was slipping, and he was barely able to control his weapons. The green whip hissed in his hands, dripping poisonous gas from all sides. It began to lose its flexibility. In its place, the green poison began to cover the ground.

Shippo was the first to alert the group to this, and they all began to climb a short way up the crumbling mountainside to escape it. To them it looked like Sesshomaru was making it harder for them to focus on defeating. But he and Inuyasha knew that his baser instincts were beginning to take over.

Inuyasha taunted his brother with this knowledge. "How does it feel to lose control, Sesshomaru? You, who are always at the top of every game. Let it go, Sesshomaru. Take your true form and fight me like a real demon. Then when I beat you, I will know that there was no way you could have done better."

Sesshomaru growled at his brother's insults. "Perhaps you are right baby brother. I was only trying to spare you the humiliation. But, as you wish." Sesshomaru let out a long, low growl and immediately turned into an extraordinarily large, vicious white dog.

"Kah! His fang is larger than Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, maybe. But, this dog only has three legs. And that is because of me." Inuyasha immediately lunged forward and charged headlong at the ferocious dog, who glared at him with crimson eyes.

Kikyou decided to take this opportunity to sneak back around the corner, making her exit from the group. She knew that there was an open path to the castle. She just did not want them to find it that easily. She had not expected Lord Sesshomaru to come for them. That was usually not his style. "But, then again" she said to herself, "he usually doesn't steal mikos and make them his whore, either."

She crossed back a short ways through the woods, but not far enough in to become lost. Then she stopped and listened. The eerie music called to her. The music that wrapped around her like a long lost lover. It was the call of her soul. She knew these calls well, because each soul had a unique song to call it back to its body; or its body back to it. Her lost souls filled her with music, but only for a short time, because none of them fit her. That is why she constantly needed to have more souls to fill the empty cavern that was her body. Her soul constantly sang out to its missing half.

She had tried to ignore it; had tried to live a normal life without it. When she first discovered that it was not Inuyasha but Naraku that had perpetrated her killing, she decided to try to put the past behind her. She was even willing to return to the underworld, as she should have. But the piece of her soul that she managed to keep clung to life as fiercely as Kagome did. The pieces of the soul sang to each other. And Kikyou, always teetering on the brink of death, became drugged by the music. At first it had scared her, but soon she craved it. Whenever she got close to Kagome, she could hear the music, the two pieces of her soul in perfect harmony.

Kikyou had then tried to live in a village like the one she had lived in with her sister, Kaede, and be their miko. Had even managed to do it while taking the souls of those who had died for sustenance. But even that was not possible. Fortune hunters and do-good monks always forced her to run. Or kill.

She had given up trying to live the peaceful life she had once had. And she blamed that squarely on Inuyasha. He had let her die. He had not tried hard enough to save her. He had let her pin him to the tree with those arrows. So now, she had the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Kikyou made it to the clearing she was looking for. The soul's song was clearest here. This was a direct path to Sesshomaru's castle, where Kagome lay. Kikyou smiled. _She is waiting, but she is anything but happy about it. I wonder what went on between the demon lord and his bitch._

"I was wondering when you would come back this way. I found this place without the aid of a broken soul singing out to me." The spy in the shadow made its presence known again. "Oh yes. I know full well how you came to find both Inuyasha and Kagome. I can hear them too. Although, I must say, I find the sounds of the singing souls to be rather... disturbing. I guess you would had to have been dead to fully appreciate them."

Kikyou smiled a saccharin smile. "A condition you could never be in, considering you have never really been alive."

Kagura stepped out from the shadows, a little pissed off at the words Kikyou had flung at her. "Point taken. But, I am here on business from Naraku."

To which Kikyou laughed outright. "Naraku? What business does he have here?"

"Strife always peaks the interests of Naraku. And he has found this little tiff between Inuyasha and his brother Sesshomaru to be, well, tantalizing. He sent me to help you with what you had in mind."

"And that is?" _I am not going to lay my plan open, bare to this back stabber._

Kagura opened her fan a little, tilting it to her head. "Why, you plan on stealing your soul back while Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are tied up in this little war."

She was a little taken aback. She had not expected Kagura to have figured it out so easily. "How do you know that that is what I am doing? Maybe I want to help Inuyasha; to get back in his favor."

Kagura hovered near Kikyou, but paced a little to the side before answering. "Have you ever been out of his favor? I mean, really? He has tried to save you before, and would gladly do so again. He told you that he always thinks of you and that he loves you. What more do you want than that?"

"I want that bitch Kagome dead. And I want back what is rightfully mine. A life, rich, full and long. A real home, not a cave or a clearing in a forest. I don't want to have to worry about being killed again by some bounty hunter trying to make a name for himself. Or by someone like you."

Kagura let out a slow bow in appreciation of Kikyou's words. _There is an awful lot of truth behind those words. She does want peace. But her warped existence has skewed what real peace is. True peace can only be found in death. And she refuses to die._ "I believe your words, miko. And so does Naraku. That is why he is willing to give you this piece of information, so that you may have a chance at a normal life again. Perhaps even a chance at a normal love this time."

"And, pray tell, what does Naraku want in return?"

Kagura took on a look of mock surprise. "Why do you insist that he wants any kind of payment in return?"

Kikyou crossed her arms in defense. "Because I know him. I knew Onigumo before him, as well. Neither one of them would help me out of the kindness of their hearts. Neither one of them had hearts."

"Touché, Lady Kikyou. He does want something in return. Actually, two things. And they are both things that you can easily provide."

Kikyou was deeply troubled. This was the man who killed her, out of some twisted love for her and tainting the Shikon jewel. And whatever he wanted was probably not going to be something she would want to give. On the other hand, any information that would make retrieving her soul easier was worth a little give and take. "What does he want?"

Kagura smiled at Kikyou's turnaround. "First, after you kill Kagome, he wants the jewel shards that she carries with her."

She thought about that for a moment. She was going to need the completed Shikon jewel to return her body to its natural state. Otherwise, she may not be able to live as a human. _But, I can get the information from Naraku's spy and then keep the shards for myself. I have it on good authority that they carry the majority of the jewel. That would make my work that much easier. _"Done. And the other?"

"He wants you to make sure that Lord Sesshomaru kills Inuyasha. Inuyasha must die. Naraku has suffered greatly at that hanyou's hands, and he wants Inuyasha to suffer. Preferably after he has learned about Kagome's death. That way, his death will be even sweeter."

Without hesitation, "Done. I want him to suffer as well. Inuyasha will die."

The wind sorceress laughed out loud. _Naraku will be so happy at how easily this living corpse turned on her one true love. With the jewel shards under his control, she will eventually have to come to him if she wants to live. Even if she does manage to get the soul back from Kagome, there is no guarantee that it will dissolve into nothing, just as the other lost souls do. Because, in Kikyou's clay body, even her own soul is lost. It is infinitely safer in Kagome's body, which is wholly real._

"Now, demon spawn, tell me this important information which will turn the tide against precious Kagome."

She drew Kikyou closer with her fan, so she would not have to say this out loud. "The way you are planning to regain your soul will never work. Kagome has the larger half, and now knows how to control most of its powers. She will kill you outright before she relinquishes the soul. What's more, your half of the soul will naturally gravitate to Kagome's larger half."

Kikyou got very angry at this news. "This is what I bargained the jewel shards for? This is neither true nor helpful. I am infinitely stronger than Kagome. She has never been formally trained on how to use her powers, and will never stand up against me. I have proven this several times. Were it not for Inuyasha's constant intervention, she would have been dead long before now."

"If you will allow me to finish, there is another way. You do not need Kagome's soul."

Now she was intrigued. "How is this possible?"

"The reason you hear the song so clearly now is not because Kagome's soul was in peril, or because she found a moment of bliss in Sesshomaru's arms," She had to swallow down her bile at the thought of Kagome taking the man she considered hers. "Your soul was reincarnated long before Kagome. There is another that holds your soul, who is not nearly so powerful.

"The little girl that travels with Sesshomaru was born not too long after your death. She stumbled upon him in the woods, and he sensed the miko powers in her immediately. This is why she travels with him. He wants to use her powers to increase his strength. This is also why he kidnapped Kagome. He wanted the most powerful miko he could find to train her right. They are the same soul as well. Only Rin's soul is complete. And she is not powerful enough yet to beat you, should you try to take it from her."

Kikyou smiled at the thought of an easy victory for once. _A very easy victory._

_

* * *

_

Kagome was lying with Rin in Rin's room. This room was also sparsely decorated, but everything had a cheerful and light feel to it. And most of the furniture was scaled down to fit Rin's small size. Except the extra large tatami that matched the one Kagome slept in. Rin had not had an easy day. For that matter, neither had Kagome. She had been lulled into making love with Sesshomaru again. And again she had felt that he had used her.

_He won't listen to me, either. Although he goes about it in a more forceful way, I am still just a possession to him. And a possession to Inuyasha. I had really thought I had loved Inuyasha. But being here has proven that the men of this family aren't capable of loving. At least not loving me._

Rin stirred in her sleep, a little fitful and sniffling because she had cried herself to sleep. _She has had a very tiring day for one so young. Her father threatened her life, and I tried to leave her to her fate. It is a wonder she had let me back here to comfort her._ Kagome had returned to her room to find Rin crying on her pretty pink pillow. As soon as the door had opened, Rin had looked up, dazed for a moment. But then she had immediately run into Kagome's arms and cried her little eyes out. It broke Kagome's heart to think that she had almost left this bundle of trust and unabashed appreciation.

She and Kagome had gone down to the bathing room to clean themselves up. Rin was dirty from the day's gardening, play and salty tears, and Kagome had been disheveled from something a little worse. Rin had felt better when they were done, especially after Kagome had washed Rin's hair with a sweet smelling soap that had been left in her room. But, she had begun to cry again when Sesshomaru had not come home to see her to bed. And that is how she had fallen asleep.

Kagome did not have the heart to leave her there alone, either. She had felt such a strong bond for this girl, ever since she had first met her long ago when she had gotten lost. _Before Sesshomaru had lost her on purpose, that is. She learned very quickly that time that it was not a good thing to be lost from Sesshomaru._

_What was it about him that made her forgive him for all the bad things he has done? He let her wander off, used her to lure me in, and held her life over my head without a second thought. And still, she cries because he isn't here. What does she see in him that I can't seem to find?_

Kagome fell asleep mulling over these thoughts, along with several others of a more intimate variety. Not knowing that not too far away, the two most important men in her life were battling over possession of her.

* * *

Coming Soon – Chapter Thirteen – Spies and Lies

Sesshomaru returns from the formidable battle with his brother a little worse for wear. Kagome reluctantly uses her healing knowledge to help him recover. Kikyou keeps Inuyasha ready for more, instead of calming him down. And Kagura sees something she shouldn't.


	13. Spies and Lies

In Chapter Twelve, Kagura came into the mix. She knows that Kikyou is plotting to reclaim her soul. Also, the demon is fully unleashed from Sesshomaru, and he transforms into his demon dog form, all because of his jealousy.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Thirteen – Spies and Lies

Sesshomaru was fighting his demonic urges, wanting to regain control of this match. Inuyasha and his friends were slowly but surely gaining on the demon dog. _It is unreasonable of me to fight Inuyasha like this. If I cannot control my baser nature, then I am no better than he is. I mean to have Kagome stay with me, but not like this. On the other hand, I would rather die than let this upstart take something else that I have._ While his mind waged war with himself, his body was being attacked on three fronts.

"Miroku, watch out!" Sango yelled as Sesshomaru swiped at the little monk with his enlarged paw. He fell to the ground and his staff rolled out of his reach, into the green mist. The dog saw this as an opportunity to get this troublesome player out of the game. _It would be so easy to knock him into the poison and let nature take over. _But, something deep inside his head stayed him before he could attack. _This is one of Kagome's friends. She speaks very highly of him, even if he does grope her at every opportunity. If he dies, she will never forgive me._

He growled in frustration, and knocked the monk sideways. But, instead of knocking him into the poisonous cloud, he knocked the monk clear to the other side, where he landed with a thump that knocked him out cold. _Still, he is one I don' have to worry about._

"You bastard! You'll pay for that!" Inuyasha jumped in between the unconscious monk and his brother. "Wind scar!" He slammed his Tetsusaiga into the ground, and three beams of hot lightning shot out from the blade. Sesshomaru knew that this spelled trouble for him, and he tried to get out of the way. His only sure path was blocked by that annoying demon slayer, Sango. He charged at her, fangs bared and gleaming, intent on getting out of the way of Inuyasha's blade.

Sango was unprepared for the attack, but her years of training in human to demon combat steeled her nerves. She pulled her boomerang off the ground where it had landed from a shot moments ago and readied her weapon. She knew she had only one chance.

"Sango, don't! Get out of the way!" Shippo yelled at the top of his lungs. But, his high pitched voice was not reaching her ears, being blocked by the thunderous rapping of Sesshomaru's claws. He continued his charge unabated.

The lightening of the wind scar almost missed him, but not quite. His tail and the pad of his left hind paw were caught in its path, searing a track through fur and flesh alike. He yelped and hit face first into the ground. Sango barely had time to get out of the way before his huge muzzle slammed into the ground where her feet had previously stood.

"Feh! Take that Sesshomaru." Inuyasha said through ragged chunks of air. He was having a hard time lifting his sword anymore. _This has gone on for too long. If we don't finish this soon, I may not be of anymore use. And we are already down to two fighters. Miroku lies unconscious still, Kikyou disappeared not long after the battle began, and Kirara followed after her at Sango's bequest. She and the monk avow that Kikyou is up to no good. But, I really wish that damned cat were here now._

Sesshomaru looked over his wounds. _Not too deep, but I definitely will have a hard time running on it. And I could give a damn about my tail right now._

"Enough, Sesshomaru. Playtime is over. Let's finish this!" Inuyasha steeled himself for one more lunge with his blade, putting into it every ounce of strength he could muster. _Please let this be quick._

Sango nodded slowly, again raising her boomerang over her head, for a double attack on the demon dog. "No more fighting. Kagome is waiting for us."

Sesshomaru quickly went over his options. _The demon slayer or the hanyou? I cannot get them both, but they are close enough that I can at least take out one of them. Sango is Kagome's best friend, and her life means as much to Kagome as does Rin's. On the other hand, killing Inuyasha would make my life a lot less troublesome. Kagome would have no reason to stay by his side. She would no longer be able to compare me to him. As if I have anything in common with that filthy half-breed!_ He shook his head and quickly stood up, wincing as he tried to put pressure on his injured hind paw. He looked a little awkward, balancing himself wholly on his right side. But, his eyes gleamed with the intent to do some damage on his way out.

As Inuyasha raised the Tetsusaiga as high as he could, the blade gleamed with energy. Sesshomaru took a slight step back, preparing to run at one of his attackers. He could only back up a short way, as the crumbling mountain pass was directly behind him. And, at the very moment that the blade hit the ground and sent electric flames flying, the dog went in for his final lunge.

* * *

It was well into the night when Kagome was awakened. She sat bolt upright in Rin's tatami. _What in the world was that?_ She waited, even holding her breath to hear it again. Silence. She listened to the still air for a moment more, sure that she had heard something that sent ice into her soul. _It sounded like a ghost. An eerie wail and thumping. I swear I know I am not making it up. All this time I have been here and never had anything disrupt a night's sleep. Well, except for thoughts of_

Her reverie was interrupted by another noise. This time, Kagome jumped out from underneath the comforter and softly opened the door. She looked out into the courtyard, seeing nothing but the two trees, the little herb garden, and her room across the way. She gulped down fresh fear, stepped out into the hallway, and looked down the hall. _Nothing._ She was almost too afraid to look the other way, because if she had actually heard a noise, this was the only way it would have come from. But, the still air brought soft, uneven thumps to her ears, and she immediately turned towards the noise.

She saw a swatch of ethereal white flash at the intersection of halls, and then disappear. Her hand quickly covered her mouth before she screamed. _The last thing I want to do is attract a ghost to me. I do not feel like fighting one. Not tonight._ But, although her heart was thumping so loudly she knew she would disturb the ghost, something forced her to close the door behind her and follow it.

When Kagome got to the intersection, a strange sight led her to believe that it may not be a ghost after all. _Ghosts do not bleed. Do they?_ She looked up at the sky, because the intersection of halls had no roof, and noticed that the first sound she must have heard was the whatever it was hitting the roof and knocking off a shingle. She found proof enough of that on the ground in a hundred pieces. That was also where the first stain of blood was. _It must have whimpered. That was the wail I heard. Get a grip, Kagome. There are no ghosts here. Just a wounded animal._ She ran to her room and grabbed a poultice and bandages, which she had long ago made a habit of stockpiling when she had a chance. Even though she was in no danger of wounding herself here, it was a good lesson for Rin to learn. _Good thing. This animal looks pretty badly wounded._

She quickly surmised that the soft thumps she had heard were it walking. _Or rather, limping._ It seemed to be straining to remain upright, because it kept knocking into the wall. A differing set of footprints made her stop suddenly. _Wait a minute. I thought it had four feet._ She looked behind her where she saw tracks resembling a large quadruped. But in front of her was only a single set of footprints. Much smaller, but still heavily bleeding._ What in the world?_

As she turned a second time, she finally realized that the first footprints were huge. She had not been seeing whole footprints, but partial ones. _Dog prints._ "Oh, my God!" She took off running in the direction of Sesshomaru's quarters. Which was the same direction the footprints had gone.

He finally made it to his tree. The tree his father had planted on the event of his birth. _The only thing I care to call truly mine at this moment. _He grunted in pleasure at finally being able to sit down, but again in pain as he tried to lean against the tree. _That damned slayer took a chunk out of my back. It will be days before I will be able to relax backwards._ He leaned forward, closing his eyes for a moment as he took internal stock of how badly he was wounded.

Kagome skidded to a halt at the edge of the courtyard. She saw Sesshomaru slumped over, with blood coming from wounds in several places. His left foot was oozing puss and blood, his back was covered in blood, his sleeve was slashed to tatters, and there were several vicious claw marks on his face. "Inuyasha..."

The word instantly brought his head up, fangs bared in defense. He saw Kagome, sleep-mussed hair, whispering the name of his brother. "Sorry to disappoint you, but it is not my brother on whom you are looking."

She shook her head, not knowing what he was talking about. She walked cautiously up to him. "Did... did he do this to you?"

He laughed, but winced slightly from the pain that came with it. "Don't be ridiculous. It took the other two to do this to me. Inuyasha alone doesn't hold a candle to me."

_You can say that twice and mean it... Stop that!_ _Here he is, heavily injured, and all you can think of is how relieved you actually are that he is here at all._ She pushed all thoughts out of her head as she came up beside him and knelt down.

Sesshomaru thought for a moment that she was actually glad to see him, coming to be with him. But, that was soon proven wrong as she laid out the poultice and bandages that she had been carrying. "Let me see to these wounds."

"I do not need your help, woman!"

"Yes, you do." _It is just like talking to Inuyasha._

"I heal quicker than you do. I need no bandages."

"You heal quick, but not quick enough. You will be in pain until you do. This will lessen the pain and make you heal even faster. Or would you rather be in pain for a few days?"

He smiled at her attitude. He thought about it for a moment. _That is what the herb garden is for. And I believe I rather like the thought of her touching me. Even if it is because she feels obligated to._ But his reply was a little more harsh than he intended because of that last thought when he answered. "Right. Be quick about it."

She stood up in a huff and went towards the hallway. He thought she had decided to leave him to his wounds, but she stopped and turned around. He did notice that there was a slight stain to her cheeks, which made him smile inwardly. "I am going to fetch water to clean those wounds. It looks as if your foot needs it. When I return, I want to see that shirt off so I can get to work. What's left of it, anyway." And she ran in the direction of the baths.

Sesshomaru smiled at the embarrassment she had felt when she said that. _I know exactly what she was thinking about. The last time I took my shirt off..._ "Ow!" He could barely lift his arm, because it pulled at the tear on his back.

Kagome raced back to where he sat, water sloshing from the basin she had filled. "What? Are you alright?"

"I believe it will be a while before I will be alright." _I may never feel the same way again._

She breathed out, not realizing until then that she had held her breath when she ran in. She resumed her seat beside him, putting the water down and helping slide the torn shirt off. "Oh my God..." she whispered, seeing the amount of lacerations that adorned his arm and back.

"It is already healing. The wounds on my arm have stopped bleeding." This was said automatically, when he saw the look on her face. She looked to him as if she were in pain. _I feel this need to calm her, when I am the one who is wounded._ He grunted as she applied a cold wet cloth to his arm and began to rub the grime away. _Although, I must say this feels a hell of a lot nicer than doing it myself. Or having Jaken help me._

An involuntary shiver went through his body at the thought the one and only time Jaken had helped him recover. _Thank goodness he never tried to do that again. He did more harm than good._ "Are you alright? Am I scrubbing too hard?"

He didn't even look at her. "No." He didn't want to see what was in his eyes. It certainly wasn't pain. Not pain that could be cured by a poultice.

It wasn't until she was working on his back that she managed to work up he courage to ask him what was plaguing her mind. "My friends did this to you." She decided to start it with a statement and work her way over to the pertinent information.

"Yes."

"And what did you do to them?"

She saw him visibly stiffen. She raised the cloth from his back, thinking that she had hurt him. But, he didn't relax. She cleansed the cloth out in the water before speaking again. "Please tell me what happened."

_You happened. You and your damn powers. I wish I had never laid eyes on you._ "Why?"

She started to tear, her heart sending conflicting signals to her brain. "I need to know..."

"What happened to Inuyasha?"

The harshness of his tone made her drop back into the water, splashing him. He thought she was getting angry. "To all of them. They are my friends after all."

"And what if I told you that I killed them?" He knew he was prodding her, but he couldn't stop himself.

She sniffled. "If you were defending yourself, I would understand." She choked on the words.

Sesshomaru turned to the side, and saw that she was silently crying. _Damn him._ "I mean, I know you don't like them, but they are my friends..." She couldn't finish the statement. Instead, she returned to washing the clotting blood from his back.

They sat in estranged silence for a few moments as he thought about her reactions. "You seem upset."

"Of course I am! They were my friends. You may not have cared for them but I did." She drew in a ragged breath, now working harder on his back. "They shouldn't have attacked you, and I know you had to defend yourself, but I never wanted to see anyone dead."

"You mean you would have rather I died trying to save them than kill them to save myself."

"No! That is not what I meant, nor what I said." She was really crying now. "If they had just come here and found me, they would have seen that you have treated me well. And then they wouldn't have had felt they needed to attack you. Then you wouldn't have had to...defend yourself...and they... wouldn't....have..." She was crying so violently now that she couldn't finish that statement.

Sesshomaru took in a deep breath and tried to calm down. _You are pushing her too hard. She cares for all of them, not just Inuyasha. And she didn't want you dead, either._ "Calm yourself, Kagome. They are not dead."

She cleared her throat. "You mean, they are alive? All of them?"

"Yes. Inuyasha is safe, for the moment."

She finished cleaning off her back, and was pleased with the results. "You do heal fast. This doesn't look as bad as I feared when it was dirty." She made quick work of bandaging the wound, wrapping around his chest and back several times. She couldn't help the heat that seeped through her abdomen while touching him. Feeling his chest and the muscles of his torso.

She stood up and walked to his foot. It didn't look as bad as it had a few moments ago. She knelt at his feet and began to clean the blood off his foot. She still didn't look him in the eye, even though she could feel that his eyes never left her. "Why did you lie to me?"

"I did not lie."

She looked up, "Yes, you did..."

"No. I said what if. I never said I killed them."

She returned to his foot, perhaps a little too sharply. He winced as she cleaned the cauterized area of the wound, pulling his foot back involuntary. "Why would you even pretend to kill my friends?"

He almost answered with the truth. _I needed to know if you would have chosen them over me._ "I never pretended. I was making talk while you prodded my wounds."

Instantly contrite. "Keh! Why didn't you tell me? I would have been softer had I known they still hurt you so much."

Sesshomaru didn't know what to say about that. So he described the battle. "I had come upon them at the mountain pass. Inuyasha and I battled for a while, before the monk and the slayer joined him. There were times enough for me to kill them..." He waited until she stopped bandaging his foot and looked up at him. _There is fear there, but something else..._ "But I knew that would cause you pain. I would choose to avoid pain for you if there are alternatives."

_Did he just say that he let himself be hurt because he didn't want me to get sad if one of them died?_ Kagome was speechless. "Inuyasha used the Tetsusaiga's wind scar on me, and Sango blocked the only way out of its path."

She stared at him with interest. He noted with satisfaction that his foot was in her lap, where she was stroking it as if it were a sleeping baby. "What happened next?"

"I couldn't strike down Sango, and the wind scar made hitting Inuyasha impossible at the moment. So, there was only one possible thing left to do."

Kagome thought on it for a moment. _He couldn't take down Inuyasha, and he didn't take down Sango out of respect for me. That only left... _"You left?"

He nodded. "It was the most prudent thing to do at the time. Let them come to you. They will see that you are unharmed." He leaned a little closer to her, although his outstretched leg was still between them. "And let you explain how you have faired here."

Kagome missed that last little remark, as she was so relieved that he had chosen to leave rather than hurt her friends. _He does care about my feelings!_ She jumped over to him, onto his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. She did not say a word. At least, not for a moment. Then she remembered that she was hugging a bare chested demon. One who she has not been able to keep out of her mind as of late. She pulled back, but his arm kept her fairly close to his face. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...I mean, I didn't mean to hurt you..."

His kiss cut her off before she got any further. She somehow knew it was going to happen, but didn't really seem to mind it this time. His lips moved almost hesitantly against hers, as if gauging her reaction. But, the heat in Kagome's body was growing like a raging wildfire, and his body was barely touching hers. Just his lips, his hand, and the heat of his lap underneath her. She sighed into his mouth.

It seemed to be the sign he was waiting for, because the pressure on her lips became a lot more urgent, a lot more demanding. Sesshomaru bent over her, bending her a little backwards, making her push back into him. His tongue moved sensually into her mouth, playing with hers. Kagome was vaguely aware of movements under her. He was lifting her up into his embrace, off his lap. A few movements has her sitting in front of him. Then, he again was pressing into her embrace, and again waiting for her response.

Kagome knew what he was asking of her. What he wanted to do. And something inside of her tried to remind her of all the reasons not to. They simply just made no sense anymore. Not when she was with him. She lowered herself to the ground, making sure that he followed by wrapping her hands in his silvery hair.

His lips began to move over her lips, her chin, her cheek. His tongue played with her ear, making her shake with pleasure. He was kneeling above her, his mouth kissing her ear while he was making quick work of what little clothing was still between them. The loss of her kimono again she barely noticed. Not until she felt the incredible warmth of his hand roaming on her belly as he caressed his way down to his thigh. Even this didn't bother her anymore. _Nothing will bother me now. Only this. This is all I want. Now._

As his lips began to inflict pleasure on her neck, Kagome felt the need to express what she was feeling. "Please don't leave me this time, Sesshomaru. I don't think I can take it again."

Stopping his foray into the sensitive area at the hollow of her throat, Sesshomaru looked up to see the serious of her words. She was leaning back, afraid to look him in the eyes again. _This will never do._ "Kagome, look at me."

She twisted her head back and forth, afraid to see whether or not he needed her there, or needed release. He waited for a moment for her to look at him, then lightly pinched her thigh. Kagome gasped and looked at him, directly above her.

"I will never leave you again. It was a mistake to leave, which I have regretted ever since."

The words were so soft that she was not sure they were even said. But, the look in his eyes was more than enough for her. The pure passion in those golden eyes spoke volumes. She moaned his name and brought his head back to hers and kissed him with all the passion she felt in her heart.

Above them, the moon shone brightly, and all the stars were out to view. Kagura landed on the roof of the wing moments ago, and was captivated by the scene taking place below her. She felt an odd twinge of satisfaction in the voyeurism she was doing. _The high and mighty Lord of the Western Lands felled by a girl. A silly miko. _A part of her was insanely jealous, having decided that she wanted Sesshomaru all for himself. _That bitch has ruined him. Ruined him!_

The small part in her that was still loyal to Naraku was allowed to be in charge today. And she took in everything she was seeing below her. A plan formulated in her mind for a little petty revenge. _If there is time tomorrow, I aim to have a little fun._

The intimate scene below of the two lovers made her blood boil, but it was also valuable information that could be used in her master's benefit. She silently left the pair to their lovemaking, and returned to her accomplice heading up the knoll.

"Lady Kikyou. You must turn back."

Kikyou stopped mid-stride, surrounded by three silvery soul catchers about to go out and hunt for her food. "What is this? You tell me how to get what I want and now you won't let me in?"

"I have a better idea. You know that Kagome is perfectly happy to stay here, don't you?"

She took a deep breath to still anger rising up within her at the thought of Kagome's happiness. "Yes. I can here it in the melody of her soul. My soul."

"Why not use that as fuel for Inuyasha's inner beast? She is with Sesshomaru now, making it impossible for you to get to anyone in the castle. But if you use your puppy as bait, Sesshomaru will again go after him."

Kikyou thought on it for a second. "Interesting. I thought for sure that at least one of them would be dead. How is it that both are still alive?"

Kagura laughed. "Sesshomaru has developed a conscience. He could not kill Kagome's friends. This should make for an interesting battle, no?"

Kikyou agreed with Kagura, but was not about to join in the fun. She was the courier of another of her enemies. "I will return here tomorrow. With Inuyasha." With that, she purposefully walked down the hill, leaving Kagura alone. Again.

A slight, familiar chill crept up her spine, as inky blackness covered the bright stars. "You have exceeded my expectations Kagura."

She turned to him, holding back the bile at the sight of him. "I only aim to serve. The battle will take place tomorrow. Those who survive will be too tired to fight us. It will be quick and easy work for us then. You have nothing to worry about, Naraku."

He smiled. "I never worry."

* * *

Coming soon – Chapter Fourteen – The Beginning of the End

Sango and Shippo sneak into Sesshomaru's castle to let the others in. Sesshomaru knows this and decides the fate of his own companions. Kikyou acts on her plot against Kagome, and Kagura enlists the aid of an ally.


	14. The Beginning of the End

This will be my last chapter for a few days, as I will be moving to Alabama on Tuesday. This is a two day drive from where I am in Texas, but I hope to continue posting by the end of the week. Do not worry, this is a 20 chapter story. I will not leave you hanging for too long, I promise.

In Chapter Thirteen, a wounded Sesshomaru was tended by Kagome, and they finally express their feelings for each other; although not in so many words. Kikyou was informed by Kagura that Rin is also her reincarnation. And would be much easier to kill. And Naraku and Kagura plan to make sure that no one comes out of the final confrontation alive.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Fourteen – The Beginning of the End

Before the sun rose the next morning, and the sky was just beginning to shimmer with a pink and orange haze, an overlarge, big-eyed pink balloon wafted down a pasture covered in mists. A trail of strange crying mushrooms sprouted up here and there in the wake of the fluffy balloon. Huffing and puffing could be heard emanating from the balloon as its trajectory started a slow decline. "Steady. I can do this. Ugh!" The balloon seemed to be lifted by a windless breeze, and up it went again. Shippo was searching for something. "Where is it? Kikyou said it was straight this way."

The balloon stopped for a moment, and turned in a complete circle. There was nothing but mist everywhere he looked. "Maybe I didn't go straight. It is impossible to tell. Inuyasha will kill me if he catches up to me and I didn't find it." He used the weeping fungi as a guide and reset his course. With renewed vigor, he flew ahead as fast as his roly-poly body would let him go.

And then it happened. The mists started to part, and the faint outline of a castle emerged before him. The balloon disappeared with a loud pop and Shippo dropped to the ground. He almost yelled, but remembered Inuyasha's warning about the element of surprise. So he waited. While bouncing up and down with both hands over his mouth.

The rest of the gang caught up shortly, with Inuyasha trailing, an armload of loud mushrooms making him angrier by the second. "You didn't have to pick them up, Inuyasha. They would have disappeared soon." As he finished the sentence, the mushrooms disappeared.

"Listen, runt. You were the one who wanted to be the scout. I warned you to be quiet. And how do you leave a trail for us? With fucking cryin' mushrooms!"

"Inuyasha! Your yells are louder than that whole load of mushrooms. Now shut up!" Sango had had enough of his constant bitching since Sesshomaru had escaped. She wasn't happy about it either, but something had been nagging her since the ordeal ended.

_It isn't like him to be merciful. I saw it. He had the perfect opportunity to kill Miroku, with very little effort on his part. And he didn't. He knocked him out of play, but otherwise, the monk remained unharmed. And that last move. Inuyasha was prepared to strike, and I knew the only way Sesshomaru could get away from it was through me. So, instead of running me down and killing me, he jumped into the air and flew away. I got a good shot at him, wounding his back, but he was too far gone. _"I still don't understand why he ran away like that."

Inuyasha huffed. "Simple. He is a dirty, stinking coward."

"Inu-" Miroku started.

"It's true. That coward turned tail and ran the moment he was overpowered."

"Not so, Inuyasha. I believe that he is a good strategist. He surmised that nothing would be gained by dying at that moment, and he would not have been able to defeat you with all his wounds. He is waiting for us to come to him."

"I agree. I don't think he intended to fight us at that pass. He almost looked surprised to see us."

"He didn't looked surprised to me. He was wielding his poison whip."

Shippo turned his nose up, trying to look like he knew more than everybody else. "You didn't see him when he first arrived. He was looking for us, sure. But he didn't look anywhere near angry until he heard Inuyasha's plans to sneak up there and get him where he lives."

He started to say something to the little twerp, but Inuyasha then decided to be silent and started walking towards the castle. Miroku caught his arm before he got too far. "Inuyasha, just how do you expect to get in there?"

"I am gonna break down those damned walls with my bare hands if I have to. She has waited long enough."

Sango got up onto Kirara's back. "I have a better idea. Kirara and I will fly over there and drop down into a courtyard. All castles like those have an open area somewhere. We will let you in from the inside, and we can still sneak up on him."

Miroku walked over to Sango, with a somber look on his face. "Let me get this straight. You are going to fly on a fire-laden cat right into the middle of his castle and expect not to be noticed. Pull the other one."

She sent him a go-to-hell glare. It was then Shippo who came up with the acceptable alternative. "I'll go with them. We'll fly on Kirara until we get close, and then I will fly her over the walls. I know I can carry her. If it isn't too far."

She gave the monk an acid smile and took Shippo into her lap. "Happy?"

"Sango, you wound me with your malice. I don't want to see you hurt. I will go in your stead."

She leaned down, close to his face. Miroku tensed for the impending kiss. Then, Sango gently but firmly...pushed him away. "Please. Save the manly crap for the little girls. Follow me, but not too close. I will let you in soon." And the trio flew off in the direction of the castle.

Miroku, blushing from embarrassment, looked around them. There was only Inuyasha. "Where is Lady Kikyou?"

They surveyed the surrounding area, but it was an open plain. There was no where for her to hide. She was just gone. "She was here when we walked into the mist barrier."

The monk sagely nodded his head. "So. She is off on her own agenda. I see. Inuyasha, I know that you still harbor feelings for Lady Kikyou, but I believe she is in this to see Kagome dead."

"Feh! Fat lot you know, monk. You cannot even see that Sango wants you." He marched off in the direction of the castle, slowly digesting the words Miroku told him. And he felt a sense of dread, fearing that those words were true.

Kikyou was up at the castle a few moments before Shippo and Sango. She tried to enter the castle alone, but she did not possess the ability to jump high enough or fly. So, she retreated to a corner where shadows would render her invisible.

Kirara set down a few yards from the castle, and poofed herself into her miniature form. "Okay Shippo. It is your time to shine. We must work quickly, because I am sure that your pink bubble form will attract almost as much attention as Kirara's." Sango looked down at the cat demon rubbing her leg. She had an idea. "Why don't you carry Kirara instead of me? She weighs a lot less than I do, and you will be able to fly quicker."

Shippo was more than a little relieved at this suggestion, and quickly blew up for flight. Balloon Shippo grabbed Kirara with his stringy arms and wafted above the entrance to the castle. Luckily for him, the first inner courtyard was not too far behind the main door. His balloon popped a little too soon, due to the added weight of the little fire cat. And they both hit the ground with a thud.

* * *

Sesshomaru woke up the second the two hit the ground. As he was currently sleeping on the ground, the tiny impact tremor shot through him like electricity. He looked down at Kagome, still sleeping in his arms. _Damn. He got here sooner than I had hoped. I wanted just a little more peace before having to deal with him again._

He shifted and sat up against the tree. His back no longer throbbed with pain; it was down to a dull ache already. Kagome stirred and let out a little whine, not wanting to get up yet either. "We must get up. Your friends have just penetrated the outer gate. It will not be too long now before Jaken comes running in here to wreak havoc on us all."

Although loath to move, Kagome agreed that this was not how she wanted to be seen by Jaken. She grabbed her kimono and hastily draped it over her shoulders, standing as she did so. He sat there a little longer, just watching her. _He's coming to get her. He's coming to get her._ That same thought went through his mind over and over again. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want her to go, but to keep her he will have to kill his brother.

She tied off her sash, forgetting that her hair was in complete disarray yet again. "I better get back to Rin before she wakes up. If she finds that she is alone again, she might start crying again. She was inconsolable most of...last...night..."She trailed off as she realized that she might be insulting him. _After all, it was because of him that she was crying. That's right! He tried to use her again to hold sway over me. I need to know if he meant it._ She thought a little longer, playing with the knot at her waist. _But, on the other hand, I don't think I could take it if he really did mean it. Damn!_

"Kagome, what ever is going through your head, you are probably misled." Sesshomaru was standing behind her, only half dressed because his shirt was completely useless. "We will have time to discuss this later. For now, I want you to keep Rin in your wing. It will be the farthest from the...fracas."

She turned to argue with him, and he knew it. "Later, Kagome. I need for Rin to be safe."

Kagome lighted on his words. "Ah! I knew it! You would never hurt a hair on that child's head. You lied to me all this time."

_Funny, she didn't sound angry._ That was all he thought as she threw her arms around him and kissed her. _Women._

Jaken interrupted the pair, running in like Armageddon was at hand. "Master, master! Those hooligan friends of the miko's have just gotten into the castle." He skidded to a dead halt at the edge of the courtyard, seeing the two of them locked together. "My Lord?"

Sesshomaru lifted his head and stared at the vassal, but did not let Kagome go. "I know this, Jaken. I heard them enter. Take Kagome and stay with her and Rin in the farthest wing."

Jaken sputtered his indignation. "My Lord. I do not want to leave your side. I cannot be banished with the humans. Especially not with human women."

_Great. The toad is a chauvinist pig. _"Hey, listen here you lackey. If you say another insult towards me, I'll take your tongue and wrap it around that hideous stick you carry around."

Jaken gulped and bowed without thinking. Upon rising, he continued his assault. "My Lord, I will not leave you. I will fight to the death beside you. We can make quick work of these ignorant devils."

_He is making it worse._ He looked down at Kagome, who was beginning to get upset again. "I do not mean to kill them, Kagome."

She looked up at him. "Then let me go with you. I can..."

"No." The fierceness behind that single word made Kagome cringe. Sesshomaru sighed. "If the first thing Inu... my brother sees is you, he will steal you away. Without an explanation. I need to knock some sense into the boy."

Kagome slackened a little in his arms, a sign to him that she was calming back down. "Okay. I agree with that. Inuyasha can be hard headed most of the time. But Sango and Miroku will see reason. They will notice that I have not been hurt, and will not try to kill you. They will listen to me." Sesshomaru was in a quandary. And Kagome knew that there was something he was not telling her. "What? There is something else."

"If it were just them, I would let you go with me. But, there are others with them. They are not here to free you. I wager they want to kill you."

"They?" Kagome shivered. "Who are they?"

"Kikyou..."

"Ooh, I have had enough of her. Every time I meet her, she always tries to kill me."

Sesshomaru smiled at this outburst. "She wants her soul back."

Kagome tried to get out of his grasp and failed, miserably. "Well, she can't have it. She had it first, and look what she did with it. That's right, she died. So it is all mine now, and I mean to keep it."

Jaken started to jump again. "My Lord, the fox and the cat have opened up the outside door. They are coming his way!"

Sesshomaru led Kagome to the entrance to his wing. "Kagome, do not argue with me now. You will be safe in the far wing, and you must make sure Rin is safe. Her powers are coming along, but she can by no means take care of herself yet."

She wanted to argue, but he had a point. _If it weren't such a dire moment for me, I would find this ironic. I stay here under the threat that Rin will die, and I am still here making sure she doesn't._ "Okay, I'll go. But I want you to swear here and now that you will not kill or seriously hurt any of my friends."

Sesshomaru was getting frustrated at her lack of trust in this matter. "I swear it."

"And I do mean _all_ of my friends, Sesshomaru. Every one of them."

"Go, woman! And take the toad with you."

Jaken fell to his knees at his master's feet. "Please, my Lord. Do not make me go with her." One solid stare from him and Jaken got up and started running behind Kagome.

* * *

Sango and the others crept into the first inner courtyard of the castle. Miroku immediately closed his eyes in concentration. "I believe that Sesshomaru is towards the west."

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "Yes. And he is coming this way." Without another word, Inuyasha ran to the west, trying to meet his brother head on again.

Sango, Miroku and Shippo all let out a sigh. "So much for stealth. Come on, Miroku. Don't fall behind." Sango grabbed Shippo and they and Kirara ran after Inuyasha.

Sensing that the group had moved off, Kikyou slipped into the castle. She also closed her eyes in concentration. But she was not trying to sense the presence of a powerful demon. She was listening to the eerie music that the broken soul emitted. And it was traveling from the west wing to the wing farthest from where Kikyou sat. She kept listening, testing Kagura's theory. Sure enough, another lyrical ode sang faintly from the south. It was soft, very soft. _She must be sleeping still. And very contented._ The music had a different timbre than Kagome's. It was higher, faster, and more spirited. _Well, of course. Her soul is complete. Perhaps after I retrieve her soul, I will be able to get Kagome's. I wonder if the same soul from different times can inhabit the same body._

Just outside the main door, Kagura waited for her master. _He should be here by now. I hate it when he makes me wait like this. Like a lowly vassal. Or servant. Or slave._

"Inward contemplation, Kagura? Or are you just feeling sorry for yourself yet again." The man who literally held her heart stepped forward, appearing from the mist barrier as if from nothing.

"They are already going headlong into their fates. Inuyasha and his band are heading towards Sesshomaru. And Kikyou fell for your trap. She realized that Rin is indeed another reincarnation of herself, and is going to kill the girl instead of Kagome."

Naraku nodded. "That should leave only Kagome. I will let you have the pleasure of killing her. Any way you like." He leaned in close to Kagura. "I hear she has been dabbling with the man you set your sights on. Poor little Kagura. Your heart must be breaking." He leaned back and laughed. "I shall have to check on it when we return."

He stepped into the castle, followed by Kagura. _I'll kill you, Naraku. If it is the last thing I do._

* * *

Chapter Fifteen – Seek and Destroy

Naraku infiltrates the castle, hoping to watch his mortal enemies die, or kill them while their focuses are elsewhere. Shippo begins to search the castle for Kagome. And Kikyou comes closer to finding her souls.


	15. Seek and Destroy

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Fifteen – Seek and Destroy

Inuyasha was going so fast that he was getting lost inside the labyrinthine castle hallways. _Dammit! If I don't slow down, I will never find him. _The castle was designed to prevent invasions, and was preventing them quite effectively. He stopped and took a deep breath; not to smell his brother, but to calm down while he still had control. _Kagome is unharmed. I can smell her all over this place. She is fine. Do not lose control. You have to win this._

Even though he took deep calming breaths, he could feel his anger rising. _Keep it together, dammit. If I lose control now, I may not be able to come back. Kikyou is nowhere to be found._ Inuyasha stopped looking for a moment and instead concentrated on getting himself under his own control. _I will not lose this time. I swear it._

Sango, Shippo and Kirara turned another corner before realizing that they had been here before. "I remember this walkway. It had the picture of the geisha all in red. We've been here before." Shippo was slapping his forehead in agitation.

"Shippo, stop that. I know we have already been down this hall. And the one before that; and the one before that. I keep trying to find a different turn we haven't taken, but apparently we have taken them all."

Shippo walked up to the wall and started kicking it. "Why don't we just do like Inuyasha has already probably done and knock down the walls until we find Lord Sesshomaru." He thought about his statement, knowing he forgot to add something. "Or Kagome. I think I would personally rather find her than him."

Sango picked him up by the scruff of his neck and brought him to her eye level. "We cannot just go tearing down the whole castle. That would take too long and use up too much of our strength. Besides, that noise would surely bring the demon lord down on our heads." _And I am not at all sure that I want to tangle with him so soon yet. _"Inuyasha has not been tearing walls down, or else we would have found them. He knows the value of stealth." _Even if he chooses never to use it._

"I'm sure that he already knows we are here. He is probably getting a good laugh from our being lost in his castle and all." He flailed his legs until she finally deposited him on Kirara's back.

"I'm sure he does. But it means nothing if we cannot find him." She looked around. "Gah! We have lost Miroku. Let's go find him." They turned and went out the way they had come in.

Miroku had already slowed down, as he too figured them to be lost. He rested his head on his staff in front of him and closed his eyes again in concentration. "Are you trying to figure out which way to go?"

He lifted his head and stared at the slayer before him. _If only she knew what I was thinking about just now..._ "No. I am trying to sense Lord Sesshomaru. He is close. Even though we have back tracked a little, we are still heading in the right general direction. It is my belief that many of these halls were made to look exactly the same, thus keeping attackers confused and more likely to give up."

Shippo sulked on Kirara's back with his head in his hand. "Well, it sure is working. It seems so hopeless."

"I believe that this is a different courtyard than the one we passed earlier. Even though the hallways look the same." He walked over to the edge of the courtyard, kneeling down to the newly planted flowers in a makeshift garden. "See? These were not in the other courtyard. These bright colors would have been easily recognizable had we come across them before."

Shippo hopped of the cat's back and walked over to the flowers. "But, these are just planted flowers. No leaves, or roots, or nothing. They will die in a couple of days. Who would plant these?"

Sango smiled. "The little girl that travels with Sesshomaru. She always has a handful of flowers. I can picture a girl that young to plant only the flower heads, thinking that they will grow."

Miroku nodded in agreement. "Yes. And there have been little flower beds in every courtyard and large urn we have passed so far. Each to its own color. Obviously planted by someone who has no concept of deception."

"But, many of them were flower plants, not flower stems. How on earth did they grow?" Shippo was quickly becoming confused.

The two adults thought about it for a moment, before Miroku voiced the only answer he had come up with so far. "Lord Sesshomaru must have planted real flower plants behind her, before the flower stems she planted had a chance to die."

"Right. So she would think that what she had planted had grown. But, that makes no sense with what we know of Sesshomaru. He detests humans. He has said so himself to both Inuyasha and Kagome."

"Yes, but think about it. A little human girl, completely helpless on her own, travels with him in absolute safety. And now, he kidnaps Kagome. She seems happy, so it leads me to one conclusion."

Sango and Shippo replied together. "What?"

"That he has not been as ruthless to humans as we think he has."

Sango rolled her eyes and turned away. "Please. Now you want me to believe that he is a saint to humans? He couldn't even stand Inuyasha's mother. And he hates his own brother because he is half human."

Holding up his hand to silence Sango, he continued. "He has his reasons for hating Inuyasha's mother, and they may be valid. But I do not think that he hates all people. I have heard many tales about demons and warlords alike that are untrue. They are spread, through various ways, to make the demon or human appear more ferocious than he actually is. I am sure that this is the case with Lord Sesshomaru."

"So why has he not put the rumors straight? As much as we have fought with him, he has never lied."

"True. But, he does not fight when he does not have to. Lord Sesshomaru is quite cunning. If these rumors make him seem so fierce that no one opposes him, then it would make more sense to him to let the lies stand. Less work on his part."

Shippo jumped up and down, trying to get his companions' attentions. "Excuse me! We need to find Kagome, before he decided to prove those lies true!"

The monk again closed his eyes and concentrated on his surroundings. "I sense no urgency in our finding her. What I sense is that she has been completely safe here. Like being on one of those vacations she has told us about."

"So, you don't think that Kagome wants to be saved?"

He shook his head. "That is not what I meant. I only meant that she is in no hurry to be rescued, or she would have been giving us clues to find her. Shouting or leaving a trail or something. I see none of that here."

Shippo picked an orange flower out of the ground. "Only colors. Everywhere we turn."

Sango looked down at the little kitsune, who still seemed worried about his Kagome. "You know, Miroku, if Kagome is as safe as you sense she is, then there is no need for all of us to go looking for her. I think we should split up."

He knew what she was thinking. "I agree, Sango. You, Kirara and I should go and find Inuyasha. We need to make sure that he does not transform again."

Sango leaned down to Shippo's eye level. "Shippo, we leave it to you to find Kagome and make sure she is all right. Can you keep her safe?"

He puffed out his little chest. "You can count on me." He trotted of in a random direction, not sure of where to go. _I know I will find her eventually._

'That was easy. Now, let's go find Inuyasha before he does more harm than good."

* * *

Kagome and Rin were meditating in Kagome's quarters. It was the only thing she could think of to calm the little girl down. After Sesshomaru had left them, Rin had awoken from a nightmare. She cried to Kagome that she dreamed Sesshomaru had left them and all manner of scary creatures had gotten into the castle. 

"What kind of animals?" Kagome had asked her.

"There were wolves and spiders. Everywhere. I ran and ran, but everywhere I turned there was another wolf or a spider's web. I got trapped in this huge spider's web, and I was so scared that a giant spider would eat me."

Kagome had been intrigued. "Did it come for you?"

"No. It was as if it had laid a trap. I was pinned up in the web, and a lone wolf came to me. I knew it was about to kill me. That was when you woke me up."

Rin had tried to run after Sesshomaru after that, but Kagome obeyed orders and kept Rin in the wing. This made Rin terrible upset, and it was not until Kagome had suggested that they return to miko training that Rin stopped crying. _I swear, that little girl's emotions run hot and cold. One minute she is in the depths of despair, the next she is over the moon. I wonder if I am like that sometimes?_

Now, they were in the middle of meditation, with Rin so deep in her concentration that she did not notice that once again Kagome was not even trying. _Too many things going on for me to meditate. My powers are high enough._ She did stay seated by the little miko, afraid that any movement might set her off again. _I understand her high dudgeon, though. I can barely keep my senses about me, and I am supposed to be more in control than she is. Lately, it seems that everything sets me off. I suppose that that is because I am in love. _She didn't even question why she thought she was in love. _Nope. There is no use fighting it anymore. I love him to distraction. And, apparently, love makes me crazy._

Before she could concentrate any more on that problem, she sensed another one, coming nearer to their location. _Kikyou. _"Rin. Wake up."

Rin opened her eyes, smiling at Kagome. "I am not asleep. I was thinking like you taught me to."

Kagome smiled. "I know, and you are doing exceedingly well. But, we need to move someplace more secure. I think we should go to your room. It is a little farther away than this one. We can work on your healing poultice there. It does need a little more work before you can actually use that on someone." Without allowing the little girl to utter another word, she picked up their mortars and pestles and ushered her out the door.

Jaken was waiting for them outside, not wanting to be stuck in there with two priestesses. "My Lady, where are you going? Lord Sesshomaru wanted us to stay right here..."

She held up her hand, hoping that that would suffice to shut the toad up. "We are staying in this wing, but I wanted to go to Rin's room. It is better suited for...making a mess with the herbs."

He finally saw what the girls were carrying and agreed. "Hmm. You are right. Rin is forever bringing dirt and flowers into her room. That would be perfect for your futile attempts to teach her something useful."

Rin walked up to him, staring at him. She was in no mood for his lip service today. "Someday very soon I will be able to put you in your place, you little toad. So until then, you still have time to be nice to me." She smiled at him. "After all, you are fun to play with, when you think no one else is watching."

He puffed up like a bloated balloon, and the two girls moved their things to the farther room. Jaken still stayed outside. Although he never admit it, he liked the warm feeling that crept up from his toes when Rin said he was a good playmate. _I never had a friend before._

Kagome saw Rin inside before turning to the little toad demon behind her. She got down on her knees to face him directly. "I know that you do not like me much. And there was a time when I couldn't stand you. But, for all your huff and fluff, I know that you only want to do as your Lord and master tells you."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Aye. That is true enough."

"Well, I need you to tell me when she is coming. Both you and I know that she is coming straight for us. And I don't know if Lord Sesshomaru will get here before she does. So, it is up to us to make sure that Rin is safe. You and I can take care of ourselves, but she cannot. We need to make sure that nothing happens to her. Do you hear me?"

He nodded and Kagome went into Rin's room to resume training. Jaken stood outside the door, staff at the ready, as a sentry. He knew an attack was coming._ Different from the one Lord Sesshomaru is seeking, but a dangerous one nonetheless._

_

* * *

_

Naraku sat underneath a large oak tree, picking simply planted flowers that adorned the base. _Fresh flowers. He still travels with that silly baby._ "I believe that this is Sesshomaru's favorite tree." He closed his eyes and breathed in the memories attached to the tree. Smiling cruelly, he continued, "I can see exactly why. It would make you blush, Kagura."

Kagura turned towards her master. "I already know why, Naraku." She turned back towards the entrance to the wing in distress. "Do you think it is wise to wait in his personal quarters? I think that we would be too easily spotted here."

"Are you fearful of your life, Kagura?"

She closed her fists around her fan, trying to hold in her rising anger. "No. I thought the whole purpose of our being here was to wait out the match against the two brothers. We will be noticed in his own quarters. He may skip Inuyasha all together in lieu of fighting you. You are one of his worst enemies, you know."

Naraku smiled to himself. _I know what you are thinking of doing, little girl. How very foolish of you._ "That would be nice for you, wouldn't it? If Lord Sesshomaru disposed of me for you, you would be free to pursue your own avenues. But have no fear. I have no intentions of being spotted so easily. I have put in place a shield that will protect us from being sensed by mikos and demons. No one knows we are here, yet."

"If they get too close to us, they would be able to sense the barrier. Then they would still know we are here."

Naraku lazily stood. "Perhaps you no longer trust in my abilities. If you like, you may go out there and make sure things are going to plan, like I assure you that they are. Feel free."

Kagura made a move to leave, but was stopped by Naraku's parting words. "But remember that you are not."

_Not yet,_ she vowed as she left the barrier and used her giant feather to fly into the air. _But I soon will be. I guarantee it._

* * *

Coming Soon -- Chapter Sixteen -- Two Against One

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha battle in a contest of wills. Kagome prepares for the inevitable fight with Kikyou, but Kikyou still has to choose which reincarnation to go after.


	16. Two Against One

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Sixteen – Two Against One

Sesshomaru was growing impatient, waiting for his half-brother to come and find him. _That puppy never does what is expected of him. He should be here by now, full of righteous indignation. He needs to hurry so I can defeat him quickly, or I will not be able to help Kagome with Kikyou. That dead miko gets closer by the second._

He sniffed the air, feeling that something was afoul. He sensed nor smelled no other demons in the castle other than himself, Inuyasha, Jaken, the fire-cat, and the little Kitsune. But, something inside him would not settle for that. _It all seems too easy. I want Inuyasha to come here to me, and he does in record time. How did any of them know where to find my castle? None of them have been here before, and the mist barrier keeps most confused as to its location. With the dead miko and the monk, I would expect them to get through it, but it was as if it were not there. There is definitely something else going on here._

Inuyasha was calmly, if somewhat stiffly, going through the hallways towards his brother. Each time he came to a crosswalk or another door, he stopped to sense his brother before continuing. This greatly reduced his backtracking, as many of the doors and hallways inadvertently led him back to a place he had already been. Now, only one door stood between him and Sesshomaru. His blood began to burn as he steadied himself for the attack. _He knows that I am here. He can't not know. He is waiting for me, right there._

"Sesshomaru!" he screamed as he kicked open the door. But, his half-brother just stood there, in his full regalia, staring back at him. "Where is she?"

He flinched at Inuyasha's possessive tone. "She is safe from that miko you brought. For the moment, anyway."

Inuyasha instantly went on the defensive. "What do you mean by that?"

"Did you really think that Kikyou wanted to help you find her? The reason why she cannot be fully alive? She helped you here so she could kill Kagome. The miko was perfectly safe here until you showed up."

The hanyou did not know how to react to that statement. Something inside of him had known that this was true. Known it and regretted it. _My love for Kikyou blinded me to the truth that even my friends could see and I could not. Kikyou did not feel compelled to help me. Even my damn brother knew that. Wait? Did he sound possessive? Of my Kagome? _"She was not perfectly fine here. She was your bait to lure me here. Well, you got me."

Sesshomaru looked away from him, as if he were bored. "It was not my intention to lure you here. Not until we fought earlier. Then I decided it would be better for you to come here and see for yourself."

He balled his hands into fists, struggling for control. "See what?"

"That Kagome is better off with me. She is too powerful for you already, and her powers will only continue to grow. You cannot handle her. You were never meant to. I can. And I will."

Inuyasha rested his hand on the hilt of his Tetsusaiga. "You mean to keep her as a weapon?"

"That was my original intention, yes. And to train Rin in the same manner."

He pulled the blade out, bringing it to vibrant life. "I don't think so."

Sesshomaru pulled out his own blade, not wanting to hurt a friend of Kagome's. "You are not listening to me, Inuyasha."

"Don't care what you have to say. Kagome is going home with me where she belongs."

Now it was Sesshomaru who was beginning to struggle with his control. "What makes you think that she belongs with you, little brother?"

He jumped in the air. "Because she does. She always has."

The two blades hit, Inuyasha pushing with all his might. But, Sesshomaru stayed put. "I don't think so. If she did always belong to be with you, she would not have been born in the future."

That stopped him for a moment. "How did you know that?"

"She told me."

He laughed at that. "If that is the case, then she doesn't belong with you either."

Sesshomaru attacked this time, leaving Inuyasha with little chance to do anything but throw up his blade in defense. Before another round of verbal sparring took place, both brothers caught notice of a slight disturbance in the air. It only lasted for a second, but they both got the impression that someone was in the castle that shouldn't be there.

"Did you feel that?"

Sesshomaru nodded. "Yes, although very slightly. Someone is hiding in my castle."

"Jeez, how many enemies do you have?"

He grimaced slightly. "Not half so much as you, Inuyasha. Quiet."

Without removing their swords from the locked fighting position they were in, they listened and sniffed for any further disturbance. "I smell something faint, but I do not know what it is."

The demon lord sniffed. "It smells like the creation of a half breed. Kagura."

Inuyasha groaned. "Not that bitch. She is like a bad stew. She keeps repeating."

"Now it makes sense."

"What does?"

"Kagura led you to my castle. There is no way that dead miko could have known where it was, but she led you right to it. Kagura has been here before, entreating my help against Naraku. Kagura told her exactly where to find me." He turned on his brother. "You led everyone right into my castle. That sudden disturbance we felt was a barrier Kagura must have passed through." _Knowing her, she probably knew I would feel it the moment the barrier was weakened. Is she still trying to get me to help her out of her bondage?_

Inuyasha mulled over his brother's words. "That means that Naraku is in here somewhere. I bet that bastard planned the whole thing. I wondered how Kikyou happened to show up at just the right moment."

"And now that dead miko is going after Kagome."

Inuyasha turned to find Kagome, the problem with his brother suddenly forgotten. But, Sesshomaru's hand on his arm stopped him. "We must fight the greater evil first. If Naraku is allowed to wander free, we are all in danger."

He narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying, Sesshomaru? Do you want me to help you defeat Naraku?"

Sesshomaru gave a quick nod of his head. "If this is truly Naraku's doing, then our not fighting now puts a wrench in his plans. He may go after Kagome first. I wager that Kagura already knows where Kagome is. We have to go after Naraku now. Kagome can take care of herself for a while. When that is over we will take care of Kagome."

Reluctantly, Inuyasha agreed. "Two is better against one. But, we do not know where Naraku is."

"I know. That barrier dropped in the direction of my personal wing. Follow me."

* * *

Sango leaned against the wall to catch her breath. "This is ridiculous. We should have caught up to him by now. Where in the world are they?" Kirara nudged her with her little paw, now in her minute size.

Miroku decided that this would be as good a time as any to rest and joined her against the wall. "I think that we are trying to hard, Sango. I have an idea." He picked up Kirara and set her down in the courtyard next to her. "Forget stealth. Kirara, fly up there and find where the two brothers are fighting. We will wait right here for you to return." Kirara went without another word. _Ah, finally alone._ "Sango, I need to talk to you while I have you alone."

Sango rolled her eyes. _Not another stab at baby-making._ "What is it now, Miroku?"

"I just wanted you to know that I never meant to hurt you." Sango was speechless. She did not expect him to say that. "And, whenever I pinched some other girl's cheeks, I always thought of you."

She let out a little laugh and made a move to hit his face. He caught her hand, also with a laugh, and pulled her close. "And, I want you to know that I will always be here for you. I will be by your side when you fight demons. I want to be there. I like it there." He nuzzled her neck. "Even if you push me away again, this is where I want to be."

Sango leaned her head back, still reeling from the monk's long overdue confession. "I don't want to push you away, Miroku. I just cannot stand to be one of many in your life. One of many women, anyway."

He picked his head up from her neck and stared into her eyes. "You are the only woman in my life. The only one I truly want to have children with. Grow old with. Die with."

Just as he leaned in to kiss her, a cold shiver passed through both of them. It worked like a bucket of ice water. "What was that?" Sango breathed.

"It felt like the presence of a very strong demon."

"It felt like evil coursing through my veins."

Miroku turned towards the direction of the momentary chill. _Only one thing could make that kind of evil pass through us._ "Naraku."

* * *

_I wish she would hurry up and get here, so I can get this over with. I cannot stand hiding like this, as if I were afraid of her. She's dead, for crying out loud! What on earth should there be to be afraid of?_ But, Kagome sat in wait, knowing that Kikyou was very close now.

An eerie noise wafted slowly into Kagome's ears. It set her blood running cold. _It is the same noise I heard before. Only this time it is louder. That must be her. No one else could make me tremble. Tremble? I am not afraid of her. I am tired of her._

Kagome stood up, upending her pestle full of wolfs bane and looked down at Rin. "Would you scoop that back into the bowl? I forgot an ingredient we need and I want to get it real quick."

Rin frowned. "Sesshomaru-sama said to stay put."

She sighed. "I am not leaving the wing. I left the black powder herbs in my room. We need them for this concoction." Rin seemed pleased with this answer, as Kagome knew she would be. _She thinks I am going to teach her a new formula. I don't even know if there is such a thing as black powder herbs._

Kagome ran out the door and almost fell flat on the ground, tripping over Jaken. "Kagome, what are you doing out of this room?"

She motioned for the toad to speak quietly. "If I tell you, will you promise not to tell Rin?" The toad nodded and came in close to hear her explanation. "Kikyou is coming for me. And I do not want Rin to be in the room when she is here. I will wait for her in my room. You go in there and keep Rin distracted, so she doesn't know how long I have been gone."

Jaken looked nonplussed. "But...but...but how am I to do that?"

Kagome was surprised that he did not try to weasel his way out of it, like he always did. "Just ask her what she is doing. And then don't stop her when she proceeds to tell you. She has been dying to show off what she has learned, and you will be the puppet who is going to listen."

Without another word, Kagome ran to her room and shut the door, awaiting dead miko's arrival. Jaken had a decision to make. _If I stand guard, which to guard? I cannot guard them both, but Lord Sesshomaru wants them both protected. Kagome says she can take care of herself. And Rin is my friend. I will risk doing what I want to do._ He went into Rin's room. "What are you making."

As predicted, her eyes lit up with delight. "We are making a poultice to ward off the effects of being bitten by a wolf-demon..."

Just after the door shut behind Jaken, Kikyou finally made it up to the entrance to the far wing. She stood at the entrance and listened to the souls' songs. To her left, the broken melody of the soul piece in Kagome's body called to her. _It is a very powerful song. My soul piece does not want to ignore it._ Toward her left, the unrestrained melody of the whole soul also tantalized her. _Kagura said that it would be easier to retrieve my soul from the child. It would be a simple thing then to kill Kagome. She would in no way be able to defeat me after I have regained possession of a whole soul. But, I have wanted to kill that bitch since I saw her with my Inuyasha. Her death is too sweet to wait. I have a tough decision to make here._

_

* * *

_

Coming Soon -- Chapter Seventeen -- The Miko Unleashed

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha reluctantly square off against Naraku. Kagome and Rin are found by Kikyou, and Kagura seeks her own fate.


	17. The Miko Unleashed

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Seventeen – The Miko Unleashed

_I know she is coming. She is less than twenty feet from my door. I will not back down. Sesshomaru would not want me to back down. _Kagome took a deep, steadying breath and drew her bow and arrow. She concentrated all her energy into the tip of the arrow, creating a large blue orb at the end of it. _When she walks through that door, I am going to hit her so hard that there will be nothing left but microscopic particles of clay dust. I will not be harassed by her again._

She continued to wait. She could still hear the creepy, broken soul song Kikyou emitted, just behind her door. _Does she know that I am planning to attack her? Maybe my body gives off a song that she can hear._ Her blue orb was faltering, and she had to re-focus her inner thoughts to the task at hand.

After about five minutes, she heard a shifting that sounded suspiciously like a door sliding open. She lowered her bow a little as she strained to hear any movements from behind her door. Then, Kagome heard a soft thump and clang. And another. _Oh my God! She is going after Rin._

"No!" Kagome screamed as she ran towards the door, barely getting it open before bursting through the doorway and sprinting across the courtyard. Another thump and clatter. Then she heard something that made her blood turn to ice as she raced down the hallway. Rin's shrill scream a rustle of clothing and a dull thud.

Ripping the door open, Kagome was greeted at the door by a huge silvery soul catcher. Its mouth was open to expose transparent fangs. Without hesitation, she clawed the catcher with her nails. Her hand glowed blue with the focus of her anger, and the soul catcher shattered into pieces in front of her. She frantically searched for Rin, but at first didn't see her anywhere. Then she tripped over something lying in her path.

Frightened that it was Rin, she dropped on her knees, tears staining her face. She looked down and saw Jaken. _Rin screamed for Jaken. _She was so relieved that it took her a moment to realize that Jaken was not moving. _He isn't breathing either._ She turned him over, and saw a large burn mark across his squat chest.

"That stupid little toad got in the way. Poor thing thought he could stop me from getting to her." Kagome looked up to see that Kikyou was standing right over her. "I think he really was rather fond of her. They were about the same height. Come to think of it, I think they are perfectly suited for each other. Both have high opinions of themselves and both never know when they cannot win."

Kagome was trying to find Rin, expecting to see her flayed on the ground like Jaken was. She looked on the ground all over the room, ignoring the laughing remarks Kikyou was taunting her with. But, Rin was nowhere to be found.

Leaving Jaken on the floor, Kagome slowly rose to her feet, still scanning the room. The thumps she had heard earlier now became clear. Her eyes flowed from Kikyou's feet, she saw not too far away a small willow arrow, which had been broken. As if reading her thoughts, Kikyou said "That silly little girl thought she could defeat me by shooting twigs at me with a tiny bow. As if she were you." Kikyou couldn't finish, she was laughing so hard.

To the right of the arrow lay another broken arrow. Then another. Kagome stopped breathing as she continued the line. Finally, her eyes lighted on the bow, which had been cleanly snapped in half. The cord that ran the length of the bow had been singed into a little ball. "Oh that. That was when I got tired of the girl shooting her weak little blue arrows at me and sent her a real jolt of power. But that insipid little toad got into the way, so I burnt him instead."

Kagome felt no relief at those words. Right beside the broken bow was the end of a large, silvery tail. Looking up the tail, she saw that another very large soul catcher had Rin in its grasp. The poor little girl was unconscious, but otherwise did not look hurt. She was finally able to breathe again.

Kikyou noticed that Kagome was relieved, but did not want her to stay that way. "I need her soul. She will not be alive much longer. Normally I only take the souls of those who are already dead, but in this case I think I can make an exception." She balled her fist and created a blue orb of light. She raised her arm up to shoulder length and hurled it in Rin's direction.

Without a second thought, Kagome leapt in front of the girl, thinking that in all likelihood it would be her last gesture. The combined powers of the two mikos created a shield that instantly deflected the orb Kikyou hurled. Kagome however did not notice this and instead slashed through the soul catcher, cradling Rin as she was dropped. She dove into a corner of the room and deposited the little girl beside her dresser.

"Kikyou, I have had enough of you!" She yelled at her as she stood back up.

"I quite agree. I must say that I cannot stand you either. Which is why I must do this..." Before Kagome could do anything, another blue orb was fired at Rin. This one struck its target, entering Rin's body through her chest. Another blood curdling scream went up from the little girl, and her soul rose up out of her mouth. When the scream finished, the soul was out of her body, floating above her. Kikyou opened her outstretched hand, closed it, and pulled it towards her own chest. The soul followed, and entered Kikyou through her mouth.

"What are you doing?" whispered Kagome. She was shocked that Kikyou would simply kill Rin like that. _What is wrong with her? Has she finally gone insane?_ "Why did you kill her?"

Kikyou waived her hand dismissively. "She was in the way. No matter. My soul is complete. Well, now I seem to have a little extra. All of hers, part of yours, as it were. I can feel myself getting stronger." Kagome watched as Kikyou's whole body turned blue with power. She positively glowed with it. _Rin's soul must be more powerful than Sesshomaru thought._

The thought of Sesshomaru brought Kagome out of her reverie. _I have failed him. He will never forgive me for letting her die. I could never forgive myself._ "You killed Rin. You bitch." Kagome also brought all the power she could muster to her defense, and she also glowed blue with it. _Help me, Rin. Fight against her and I will set your spirit free. It is the least I can do for you._

With a last cry of vengeance, Kagome ran at Kikyou, and the two collided in a flash of brilliant blue electricity. The force of the collision knocked both bodies to opposite sides of the room.

* * *

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha found the courtyard where the barrier was erected. It was immense and strong. Inuyasha almost ran into it because it was invisible, but Sesshomaru pulled him out of it just in time. "We cannot lightly pass through. There must be a weakness."

"There is." A voice from behind them called out. They both turned to see Kagura sitting on the edge of the roof behind them. "But you may not like to go through. I think that he is too strong for even you two to handle."

Inuyasha was the first to come up to her, complete with his signature huff and anger. "What are you doing here, you evil witch? Shouldn't you be doing Naraku's dirty work?"

She sneered down at the hanyou. "I am. But, you two should be fighting each other. Not looking for a way into his barrier." She let herself off the ledge, coming to stand before them. "But, if you are not fighting there is nothing I can do about it... now."

Sesshomaru walked closer to her. "Tell us how to get into the barrier. Now."

She pointed to up. "The oak tree is tall. I doubt his barrier covers the entire tree. To get in, go to the top of the tree and climb down. It might be a tight squeeze, but it would be the only way in." Then, she summoned up her wind feather and flew away. _Hah! Let us see how mighty you are now, Naraku._

Without a word, Sesshomaru lifted himself and his brother to the top of the oak tree. He touched his foot on the uppermost branch, and sure enough, he was not hurt by a barrier. "She spoke the truth."

"I wonder why she led us to his weakness..."

"She has always wanted to get away from Naraku's clutches. Kagura always works for her own gain." The two brothers quickly and quietly worked their way down the tree. Halfway down, the barrier began to close in on them. Inuyasha's hair was singed on the barrier. Sesshomaru got his elbow burned by it as well. But, they made it low enough that they could jump to the ground.

"What took you so long?" said Naraku from the entrance to the courtyard.

"You aren't surprised to see us?" Inuyasha muttered as he drew the Tetsusaiga.

Naraku laughed, a low hollow laugh. "Of course not. I knew that if I sent Kagura outside that barrier she would do whatever she could to send trouble my way. And she never disappoints. I will deal with her later. Right now, I must deal with the brothers."

Sesshomaru summoned his poison whip. "You have come into my home and desecrated my quarters. Prepare to pay."

Naraku flashed an evil half smile. "Desecrated?" He looked towards the tree. "Oh. You mean the tree, where you and Kagome..."

"Shut your mouth, Naraku!" He spat the words out so viciously that both Naraku and Inuyasha flinched at the words. "What happens in my house is none of your concern."

"What did you do to Kagome, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha's attention was turned from Naraku.

Naraku took this moment to strike. "Foolish pup. You will never learn..." He raised his hand to strike, but was cut short by a high pitched, piercing scream.

The brothers both looked towards the west. "Kagome!" was Inuyasha's first thought.

It was Sesshomaru whose attention was now diverted. "No. That is Rin." He dropped his poison whip, turning his full attention to the pain he heard in that scream.

Again Naraku laughed. "Kikyou must have killed her. Rin's soul now belongs to her."

Inuyasha was confused. "You mean, Kikyou came with us to kill Rin? Not Kagome?"

"Yes. But don't worry. The same soul cannot occupy a body twice at the same time. She will not live long." He again raised his hand to strike, but Inuyasha was now ready and deflected the attack with his sword.

"What do you mean, the soul cannot occupy a body twice? That makes no sense." Inuyasha talked to Naraku while striking blow after blow. Each strike of the Tetsusaiga was deflected over and over. Sesshomaru likewise drew his sword and attacked Naraku from the opposite direction. But, he agilely defended himself against both brothers.

"How ironic, isn't it? Both brothers, fighting together for the same woman. I wonder... when you are finished with me, will you turn on each other?"

"Inuyasha." Sesshomaru called to his brother as they fought Naraku. He looked up from the battle, but did not stop fighting. Sesshomaru stared at his brother, willing him to read his thoughts. _We must strike together to catch him off guard. Be ready. _Inuyasha nodded.

Before they could coordinate their attack, another scream from the little girl drew attention from Sesshomaru from Naraku. _Kagome must be having a time with Kikyou for Rin to be screaming like that. If she can just manage a little bit longer, I will be able to help her._ He nodded to his brother and they both raised their swords.

Quickly they brought their swords down on Naraku, who easily deflected them, a sword in each hand. As soon as Naraku's hand touched the sword, Sesshomaru let go, revealing his poison whip and lashing it around Naraku's throat. He pulled it back as quickly as he was able, snapping Naraku's neck clean off his body.

"That was easy," said Inuyasha. _A little too easy._ The body disappeared, and in its place, a little wooden puppet fell to the floor, in two pieces. "I knew it. He sent another damned puppet. He is too cowardly to ever come in public."

Miroku and Sango reached the duo just as they killed Naraku's puppet. "What were those screams?"

Sango gripped Miroku's shoulder. "Was it Kagome?"

Without a word, Sesshomaru left. Inuyasha answered the question as they followed. "No. It was the little girl, Rin."

Miroku murmured to Sango. "It sounded so much like Kagome..."

The group reached the farthest wing as sounds of a battle reached their ears. A cry could be heard, and running of two sets of feet. As they got to the door to Rin's room, a brilliant blue flash blasted them all to the floor, blowing the door and front wall away. The force of the collision knocked both Kagome and Kikyou to opposite sides of the room. As Kagome fell, she bounced and hit her head against the wall. As Kikyou fell, she crashed to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces.

The lost portion of Kagome's soul came up from the wreckage, weaving through the air until it found its way back to Kagome. While unconscious, she breathed it in, completing her soul. A shimmer covered her whole body for a moment, then disappeared. The other soul that exited Kikyou's remains had nowhere else to go, as Rin's body was not longer living. It stayed near the remains it departed from, waiting for a soul catcher to take it away.

"Incredible," said the monk. "She finally has her whole soul returned to her. How did that happen?"

Sesshomaru ignored the question and stood up. He walked over to the far wall where a crumpled little body laid beside the dresser. Without hesitation, he drew the Tenseiga and sliced it through Rin's body, which drew the hovering soul back into her. She choked and coughed, then sat up, tears welling up in her eyes. "Kagome..."

Upon hearing the little girl crying out her name, Kagome woke up with a gasping breath. She sat bolt upright and looked around her. Inuyasha was sitting beside her, tentatively reaching out a hand towards her. Miroku and Sango sat together beside a broken heap of toad, and... "Rin?"

The little girl awkwardly got to her feet and stumbled over to Kagome. "I tried to stop her. I told her she could not take you away from me. Jaken stopped her from hurting me..." She couldn't say anymore, because she was buried in the big, smothering hug that Kagome gave her.

"Where is Sesshomaru?"

Sango spoke up, because Inuyasha couldn't bring a single word to his lips. "He left. He said something about tying up loose ends."

"Kagura. She is still around here, somewhere." Inuyasha spoke brokenly. "We saw her. Before we fought Naraku's puppet."

"Ah. I should have known he would not actually be here." The monk nodded sagely, relishing the feel of Sango pressed to his side.

"I have to go to him...:"Kagome tried to sit up, but her head was swimming.

"You are not going anywhere. You almost died. Take it easy. You can ride Kirara back to the village." Inuyasha was speaking fast, afraid she would not listen to him otherwise.

"I can't go to the village now, Inuyasha. Sesshomaru and I have unfinished business." She eventually raised herself up on her feet, although swaying to and fro the whole time. She stumbled out of the wreckage of a room, following Sesshomaru's trail.

* * *

Coming Soon -- Chapter Eighteen -- Twisted Mettle


	18. Twisted Mettle

In Chapter Seventeen, Kagome and Kikyou settle old debts. Kagura goes her own way as a twist develops. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are reluctant to return to mutual loathing after the battle is over.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Eighteen – Twisted Mettle

Shippo was the last one to find the exhausted Kagome. He had heard the melee, but his little legs did not take him as fast as the others. _I never get to do anything. I promised I would keep Kagome safe, and now she is probably dead._ He reached the door of her room and looked around in disbelief.

Inuyasha was sitting in the middle of the room, looking a little worse for wear. Miroku and Sango were beside him, and they were all looking at Rin. "Where's Kagome?"

Miroku turned around to face the little kitsune. "There you are. I was beginning to worry. Kagome is fine. She went to look for Lord Sesshomaru."

"Where did he go?"

"He didn't say. Just that he was going to tie up loose ends. He is looking for Kagura. The battle is over."

Inuyasha was getting frustrated again. "Why are we just sitting here? We can't let her find Sesshomaru. He has her under some sort of spell."

Sango was also getting frustrated. "What was it Naraku told you again? It doesn't make sense."

He ran a set of claws through his hair. "He said the same soul cannot occupy a body twice at the same time. That's why Kikyou died so easily."

"But, Kikyou didn't have a soul. She only had a piece of Kagome's soul."

Miroku was deep in thought, with his eyes closed and his hand to his chin. "But, she had just killed Rin..."

"Kikyou wouldn't kill Rin. She doesn't kill people." Inuyasha was getting pretty angry.

Sango looked at him like he was going insane. "Right. She just borrows all those souls then. Do you really think that all those souls she eats just happen to belong to people who are already dead? That sure is a lot of dead young girls."

"Yes, she had Rin's soul inside her. But what does that have to do with what Naraku said." He thought for a moment. He looked up at Sango. "Unless, that made two souls occupy the same body."

Everyone looked in Miroku's direction, but it was Shippo who voiced their unifying question. "What do you mean?"

Miroku snapped his fingers. "Of course. That is why Kikyou didn't go after Kagome. She was becoming too powerful for Kikyou to overpower with only a part of a soul inside her."

Sango was unable to understand what Miroku was thinking. "So why then would she come here at all?"

"I believe that Kikyou originally wanted to go kill Kagome while we were otherwise distracted with Lord Sesshomaru. But, Kagura told her to do otherwise."

Inuyasha perked up at that statement. "Sesshomaru said that Kagura lured all of us here. She told Kikyou exactly where to find this stupid place. She played us all." He started pacing the room. _I need to find Kagome, but I want to know what Naraku meant by what he said. If Kikyou really did help me only to kill Kagome, she is no where near the same person I knew so long ago. The Kikyou I knew would never hurt a fly. Dammit!_

Miroku continued. "But, Kikyou known that Rin was the same as Kagome."

"The same?" Shippo said.

"Yes. I believe that Rin is also a reincarnation of Kagome."

Inuyasha jumped out of his sitting position and walked up to Miroku and looked him dead in the eye. "Feh! You must be crazy. Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. We all know that."

"Do you really think that a soul as powerful as Kikyou's didn't reemerge for five hundred years? It was too powerful to stay away from this world. Where it is needed. No, I believe Kagura convinced Kikyou that Rin was her first reincarnation."

Inuyasha threw up his hands in indignation. "Now I have heard everything. Rin? That little ragamuffin that travels with my brother, worshipping him along with that worthless toad? Naraku must have hit you hard, Miroku."

A little lump stirred near Shippo. He jumped up in surprise. "What is that?"

Jaken sat up, a little worse for wear. "Did somebody call me? Oh, my head." He put a little green hand to his head. _What happened? Where did all these insufferable people come from. Rin!_ He tried to get up, but a terrible burn on his chest wouldn't even allow him to bend. "Ow! That damn miko!"

Shippo stepped over to Jaken, not terribly afraid because the toad demon was just as tall as he was. "What miko? Kagome. Don't you say anything about Kagome or I'll..."

Jaken put his hand up, unable in his pain to take Shippo's prattling. "No, I did not mean Lady Kagome. I am talking of the one made of clay. She tried to kill Rin..."

Miroku corrected him. "Lady Kikyou did kill little Rin."

Jaken jumped up, heedless of the searing pain in his chest. "No! I was supposed to protect her!"

Inuyasha put a hand to his ears to shut out the toad. "Great job you did."

"Inuyasha!" Sango's heart went out to the little demon. He really did look like he was in pain.

"I tried to protect her, but she kept jumping up in front of me. She grabbed her insipid bow and arrow and ran up to that miko, shouting for me to get out of the way. That miko just laughed and shot a blue light at Rin. The little arrow deflected it and it hit the wall. The arrow then hit the ground and broke. I pushed Rin into the corner and tried to use the staff against that miko, but she laughed and waived her hand. The two heads of my staff were separated!"

Miroku picked up an ugly shrunken head by its long black hair. "I guess that explains this. But listen, Jaken..."

Jaken refused to listen. "She threw her blue power at me because I stood between Rin and herself. I was thrown over by the door and that is the last I remember. Rin! How could I have let this happen?"

Sango reached out to him. "Jaken, listen. Rin is not..."

"She told me that I was her friend. My only friend and I let her die. This lowly Jaken does not deserve to live..." Jaken began jumping around the room, hopping first on one foot and then the other. He was trying to find some way to end his life in penance for what he let happen to his friend.

A hand on his shoulder made him turn around. "Jaken, be quiet."

Jaken immediately turned to the voice, and looked up into the face of his only friend. Tears of joy burst off of his face as he started screaming in happiness. "Rin, you're alive! I knew you couldn't be dead; I knew it. I knew I protected you."

Miroku retaliated with a smirk. "Actually, it was Lord Sesshomaru who brought her back to life. For a short while, she was dead."

Jaken stilled when the monk mentioned his master's name. "Lord Sesshomaru was here? But, then he saw me lying around on the ground. I must find him and apologize. Perhaps he will not kill me. Rin, you little fool. You let me sleep while the master was..." He trailed off as the pain in his chest caught up with him. He sunk back down to the floor.

Rin kneeled in front of him. "You're in pain, aren't you? Oh boy, I get to use the poultice that Kagome taught me to make. It was made fresh last night. You stay right here." She skipped off in the direction of the herb garden, all the troubles of moments ago forgotten.

As the grown-ups continued to figure out exactly what happened, Shippo followed Rin out of the room. _All they seem to want to do is talk. I need to find Kagome. Maybe I can find her this time._ He followed Rin to the garden. "Rin. We need to find Kagome. Do you know where Lord Sesshomaru went?"

Rin did not stop, but went to the edge of the garden to grab her pestle, filled with crushed herbs. "I want to help you, but I need to give this to Jaken. He is in terrible pain because he tried to help me." She moved over to a pot filled with water. Drawing out a wooden ladle full of water, she poured it into the pestle and used the mortar to mix it all together.

Shippo was getting very impatient with everyone in the castle. "If you can't come with me, at least tell me where Lord Sesshomaru went."

Rin finally looked up at him. "I was barely up when he left. But, my guess is that he went to find Kagura. She put Kikyou up to all of this. Maybe he went back to his quarters."

He grinned. "How do I get there, quickly? It took me forever just to find my way back here."

She laughed and ran to the other side of the garden. "His wing is easy to get to. The fastest way is through these doors. They open up into his private courtyard."

He ran to the doors, then stopped. He thought for a moment, then ran back to Rin and gave her a hug. "You really do smell like her, you know."

Rin didn't understand what that meant, but liked being hugged. She had grown used to it with Kagome here. _She hugs me all the time._ "Go and help her. I have to stay here."

Without another word, Shippo ran through the doors.

* * *

_I have to rest. My head is swimming._ She sat down on a ledge by the entrance to Sesshomaru's courtyard. _He has to be in there. He isn't anywhere else._ She thought for a moment, and could hear his voice coming intermittently from his room at the other end of the courtyard.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a little fox bound through a couple of doors she didn't even know were there. "Kagome! I found you. I have been looking everywhere for you." He ran and jumped into her lap. Shippo hugged he so tightly, she could barely breathe.

"Shippo, I am very glad to see you, but now is not the time. I have to find Sesshomaru."

"Why?"

"Because I need to talk to him."

Shippo looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "Kagome, now is not the time for talking. You know that we all came here to rescue you."

Kagome frowned. "I don't need rescuing."

"What do you mean? He kidnapped you and we are here to get you back."

She looked at him. "I said I don't need to be rescued. Sesshomaru would never hurt me. He needed me to help train Rin. She has miko powers like me."

"Oh! But Miroku said something very important about Rin..." He kept going, but he didn't know that Kagome was no longer listening.

_Sesshomaru._ Kagome heard his voice coming from his room. It was growing louder. She thought she heard a crash, but Shippo's incessant bouncing and chattering stopped her from hearing it clearly. _There are sometimes when I wished he were just a little bit older. _"Not now, Shippo. I have to get to Sesshomaru. He needs me."

She dumped the kitsune off her lap in her standing. "What do you mean, he needs you? He doesn't need anybody. Kagome, you sure are sounding weird."

"Someday when you are older, Shippo, we really need to have a talk." She stood up, and her knees still wobbled a little. _Get it together, Kagome. You don't want him to see you acting as if Kikyou really had an impact on you. He wouldn't like that._

Shippo bounded beside her as they went towards the voice of Sesshomaru.

As they got close to the door, they knew that he was not alone. _Kagura is in there. I can feel that it is her._

Shippo hugged her calf, and she was reminded that she was not alone. "I don't think we should go in there, he doesn't sound very happy."

"He hardly ever is," she murmured.

They both stood there, listening to the door. Suddenly, the voices stopped. "What..." but Shippo was stopped from finishing his statement by a finger put to Kagome's mouth.

_Something is not right. Why is it suddenly so quiet. They were arguing about something just a moment ago. Surely they do not know I am here._ Listening, she still heard nothing. Then another thought rushed to her mind. One that did not make her feel any better. _I remember what happened the first time we fought here. The way he silenced me, he kissed me. Kissed me!_

Kagome burst open the door and rushed into the room, not heeding the smallish demon pulling at her leg. What she saw there made her stop in her tracks, holding her breath, and wishing she had not entered the room.

* * *

"Kagura." Sesshomaru said as he entered his private rooms. "How did I know you would be here?"

"Because we were made to know each other." She was brushing her fan lightly over a jade topped dresser, eyeing him with a mixture of contempt and reverence.

"You were made to carry out a coward's whims. I was born, of flesh and blood."

She smiled wickedly at him. "Now, that wasn't called for. I merely came here to talk to you. Insults will get us nowhere." She picked up an ivory comb, fingering the tines as if they were daggers._ I know what you intend to do, Sesshomaru. And I will not let that bitch stand in my way. You are mine._

He stalked over to his dresser and snatched the comb out of her hands. "Do not touch what does not belong to you."

She reached out and put a hand on his arm. "I never do."

"You knew that that was just another puppet of Naraku's didn't you?"

She let go of him and walked towards a window, which overlooked a small portion of the courtyard. "Whose comb is that?"

"Answer my question, Kagura."

She turned and faced him. "No. You answer mine."

He let out a sigh, the only outward evidence that he was boiling on the inside. _This thing put my house in danger, tried to have both Rin and Kagome killed, and is still playing games. I wish there were some way to discard of her completely. Does she feel nothing? But, as of this moment, she is still the only link to Naraku. He tried to kill me with a poisoned arm. He has tried to kill Kagome and Inuyasha many times. It is more important that he be stopped than Kagura die. _"The comb belonged to my mother. Now, answer my question."

"I don't remember it ever having been here before."

_What kind of game is she playing?_ 'You have never been in here before. What kind of game are you playing, Kagura?" He was starting to loose his cool with the wind witch.

_"Well, never mind." She turned back towards him and smiled. _"For a moment I thought that it was a gift for your precious little miko." She put a hand up, as if he were going to say something. "I know that you and that Kagome have formed a... special sort of bond during her stay here."

"That is not any of your affair," he said through tightly clenched teeth.

Kagura decided to ignore what he said. "But, you have to know one thing. No matter what she may or may not feel for you, it will never work out between the two of you." She walked closer to him and put her hand to his face, caressing it softly. "She is nothing like us."

He jerked his head away from his hand. "I am nothing like you. You are not a demon, you are an abomination."

Kagura snapped at his rejection. "And she is nothing but a reincarnation of a demented priestess. She is nothing!"

Sesshomaru backhanded Kagura without thinking, sending her flying to the chair on the other side of the room. She hit the chair, smashing it as she crashed through to the floor.

"How dare you touch me like that!" Kagura quickly composed herself and stood back up, wiping the blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth and smiling. "If you weren't the only one powerful enough to help me, I might start to get upset."

He sneered at her comment. "Do you really think that I would help free you from Naraku? As I have told you before, I will never help you. Your only hope is to help yourself. But I have a feeling that you do not really want to free yourself from his grasp."

She cringed at the thought of staying with that monster conglomeration that held her heart in his hands. "I would leave him right now if I weren't sure that he would kill me."

"Well, you are a part of him. Why should he give you up?"

"I have a right to live!" She took a step towards him, but stopped when the smile dropped from his face.

"You have no rights. You are his little errand girl, nothing more. His plaything, which he can throw away when he is finished."

"That is not true! He needs me because I can go where he cannot!"

"What do you mean, where he cannot? Is he injured? Unable to leave some little hovel?" She quickly closed her mouth, knowing that she had now revealed too much. He closed the gap between them, closing his claws lightly around her neck. "Be careful, witch. Answer me incorrectly, and it might be the last thing you will do."

Kagura was about to say something, but had been still long enough to recognize that they were being listened to. _The miko is here. Perfect. If I cannot have him, I will make sure that no one else can either._ "I did not mean it the way it sounded, Lord Sesshomaru," she said in almost a purred whisper. "I only meant that he does not like to venture out. He is easily recognized." She carefully slipped her hand onto his forearm, seemingly to try and stop him from killing her.

He leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping to a deadly quiet. "I think that you are lying."

She smiled and matched his low whisper. Kagura knew that the quiet would peak Kagome's interest. "Why would I lie to you?"

Sesshomaru did not answer. He sensed that Kagome was outside the door. He did not want her coming in here with Kagura. _Kagura is extremely jealous of Kagome. She has been in enough danger._ "If you leave now, I will spare your life."

"If I leave now, Naraku will kill me for letting you live."

"Run. Maybe you can outstrip him. Go as fast as you can and maybe he will not be able to reach you. Tough choice, but I will not offer you this opportunity again."

She knew that Kagome was about to rush in. "I think you are right. I should jump on this opportunity." Without another breath, she threw her arms around his neck and brought his head forcefully down to hers. She kissed him for all she was worth. Sesshomaru didn't fight, because he was taken completely by surprise. Utilizing this, she insinuated herself against his body. Kagura had never been this close to him, and she was reveling in the feel of him. _I know I cannot make him want me, but perhaps I can make her hate him. Then I'll make a break for it._

Kagome chose that moment to burst through the door, with Shippo in tow on her left leg. She was rendered completely speechless. Standing before her was the demon she thought she was in love with, and the woman who plotted with both Naraku and Kikyou to make sure she was dead. And they were in a very intimate kiss, looking for all the world as if they were in the throws of passion. His hand was caressing her neck, and hers were wrapped in his long, silver hair.

Sesshomaru pulled away from Kagura as fast as she has attached herself to him. He didn't know what to say. He threw a murderous look to Kagura, who looked too pleased with herself. _She knew she was going to make Kagome jealous. I'll deal with you later. I am going to make you wish you had never been created._

"Kagome." He dropped Kagura, who fell against the wall, with a salacious smile on her face.

As he mad a move towards Kagome, she retreated a quick step, then made a stand. Both of her feet were firmly planted shoulder width apart, with the little fox cub standing slightly in front of them. "Don't you dare touch me." Her voice was laced with such venom that he stopped, aghast.

"Nothing happened here..."

"So I saw." He growled and made another move toward her, but she held up her hand, holding a glowing blue orb. "I said, do not touch me. I don't want to hear it."

"I will not be ordered around..."

Again she interrupted him. "And I won't be played for a fool again. You tricked me into staying here. You tricked me into thinking that you would kill Rin. You tricked me into thinking that you cared for me."

Sesshomaru stared at the orb in her hand, which so resembled Kikyou's power. "I see you defeated Kikyou. You have regained your complete soul."

"Shut up. I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth ever again."

"Kagome, listen. Kagura was just trying to..."

"I will _not_ be had again. By you or by anybody!" She turned and fled the room faster than she had ever gone before. The speed of her exit was enhanced by her newly completed powers, allowing her to run almost as fast as Inuyasha. _How could I possibly have been so stupid? I actually was beginning to think of spending the rest of my life here with that odious man. How could I have forgotten what he is?_

She kept running, past her friends coming into the wing, past the gates to the castle, past the mist barrier. Kagome was not completely paying attention to where she was going, she just wanted to go away. She wanted to hide, too embarrassed of the way she had behaved during her tenure at the castle to face anyone. _There is no way I can face Inuyasha after what I have done. He will never forgive me. And Sango. And Miroku. I don't think I can even face Kaede now. And I do not ever want to see Sesshomaru again. That... that demon!_

* * *

Far away, Naraku was watching the scene with Sesshomaru and Kagura unfold through the mirror that Kanna always held in front of her. As the visions dissolved, he sat back deep in thought. _I knew she would always betray me, every time she had the chance. This will be her last performance, however. The witch is beginning to be much more trouble than he is worth. She will not survive the night._

He waived Kanna away and reached for a jar on a nearby shelf. The jar glowed red, pulsing as he reached his hand in. And Naraku started laughing.

* * *

Coming Soon – Nineteen – Return to the Simpler Time

Kagome returns to Kaede's village with the troupe, and relates a condensed version of her story to rapt listeners. Inuyasha and Kagome hash through some sorted feelings. Sesshomaru squares off against Kagura.


	19. Return to the Simpler Time

In Chapter Eighteen, Shippo and Kagome find Sesshomaru, who is entwined in the arms of Kagura. Kagome leaves without a word. Inuyasha mourns the loss of Kikyou. And a silent vow of retaliation is made.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Nineteen – Return to the Simpler Time

Kagome kept running until she ran out of steam. She had forgotten in her embarrassment and fury that she was still exhausted from her short but painful confrontation with Kikyou. _I cannot believe that she is dead. My soul is finally whole. But... i don't feel any different._

She sat down on a nearby tree stump to catch her breath and think about things that had happened. _Sesshomaru noticed right away that I had my full soul, didn't he? He saw it. I held power in my hand without even having to think about it. It just came to my hand._

_Hey! He was cheating on me with that... that... Kagura. I hate her. And him! How could he do that to me, after all we've been through. I was just beginning to love..._

She sat up straight and put a hand to her mouth. "No, I wasn't. I wasn't falling in love with him. I... I can't. I love Inuyasha." _Don't I?_

_Come to think of it, I have not really thought about Inuyasha since that night he first made love to me. _She blushed at the thought of that night. Kagome remembered the way she had tried to resist him. "Yeah. For all of fifteen seconds." She stood up and started pacing around the large tree that stood in front of her. _He is evil. I am not supposed to fall for a man... no, a demon that hates humans as much as he does._

"But he loves Rin. There is no doubt about that. He may have threatened me with her life, but he never intended to hurt on hair on her little head."

_Yeah, but he did threaten her with her in the room the last time you threatened to leave. You saw the look on her face. She was horrified._ "But, she was crying because she thought he had left her, not because she was afraid for her life. Even when he threatened her, even Rin knew that he wouldn't hurt her."

_But he hurt you, didn't he? He may not want to hurt a helpless baby, but he repeatedly caused you pain. He used your emotions against you. Sesshomaru knew that you would not do anything to hurt an innocent person. It was as if he knew you, all about you. No matter how mad I got at him, he used Rin to keep me there, because he knew my conscience would not let me leave her there._

Kagome leaned against the tree and slid down until she was sitting underneath it. She buried her face in her hands, not wanting to think about this anymore. "Yes, he hurt me. But, he did it for Rin's own good."

_Did he? Is it really in her best interests to gather her powers, knowing that she will do anything for that demon?_

"Yes, I think so. She needs to learn to take care of herself. That is why she is so dependent on him. Because she cannot make it on her own. And she is smart enough to know that."

_Okay. What about the other times he hurt you? Have you forgotten about that night, when he left you laying there?_ "I don't want to talk about it." _The night he didn't come back for three days?_ "But he did come back. He came back to me." _No he didn't. He came back to his castle. You sought him out. Like a little puppy. You couldn't stay away from him even then. And then he took you again. And left you again. Do you see a pattern here?_

She started crying. "I can't leave him. I love him." _What about the one you claim to truly love? What about..._

"Inuyasha..." The name was barely a whisper on the wind.

"What?"

Kagome looked up, startled to see his face, so close to her own. He was kneeling on the ground beside her, reaching out a hand close to her face, but afraid to touch her. _Is she alright? She was mumbling to herself about loving... me? _"What happened, Kagome? You left so fast, I had no idea if you were okay or not. Are you?"

Kagome got up on her knees and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him so close. "Oh, Inuyasha. You have no idea what I have been through. I cannot believe I am gone. That I will never..." She cut herself off, afraid to reveal something that might hurt him. Kagome pulled back a little. "How long have you been here?"

He spoke softly, as if not to disturb her, and his voice was muffled by her hair. "I got her a few moments ago. You were mumbling something about love, and you said my name. What happened there? Did he hurt you?" He was loathe to mention something that would break this wonderful hold she had on him, but needed to know if his brother had hurt her. _If he hurt one hair on her head, I will never forgive him._

She pulled back, hearing footsteps coming closer. _But, they are not Sesshomaru. He will not come back to you now that he has that Kagura. _"No. He didn't hurt me."

Sango was the first one to break the intimate reverie that the pair were having underneath the large old tree in the woods. "Why did he steal you away from us, Kagome?"

She blushed, not wanting to tell them anything that would embarrass her. "Well, he thought that I was getting to powerful, and he didn't want Inuyasha to have another powerful weapon at his disposal."

Inuyasha stood up, his claws clenched so tightly that they drew blood from his palms. "I knew it. I knew he was jealous..."

"Inuyasha, now is not the time for petty sibling rivalry." Sango had heard about enough of Inuyasha's ramblings of how Sesshomaru was so jealous of him and wanted whatever things Inuyasha had. "Was that the only reason he stole you? To keep you from helping Inuyasha?"

Kagome hesitated. "Well, he also wanted me to help Rin. She has miko powers, and should have started training when she was old enough to talk."

"He wants to turn Rin into a miko? Wouldn't that be dangerous to him?" Shippo was getting a little confused.

"Not if she is as loyal to him as she seems. That would be a powerful weapon in his arsenal, a miko on his side." Miroku seemed to see exactly what Kagome was trying not to say. _Even when he isn't here I am trying not to make him look as bad as he is. What the hell is wrong with me?_

Miroku talked through Inuyasha's ramblings, feeling that this isn't something Kagome needs to hear right now. "Perhaps you should tell us from the beginning what happened while you were with Lord Sesshomaru. Then we can decide what actions to take."

She stood up, trying to decide what to tell and what not to tell. "I don't know if that is such a good idea..." she muttered, looking over at Inuyasha, who was already fuming over what she said.

Again, it was Miroku who had any inkling of the kind of information she was trying to hide. "I understand that Inuyasha will be very upset, but perhaps if you just stick to the main facts, we will know Sesshomaru's true intentions."

_Leave it to a lecherous monk to know that I am trying to hide something. _"All right..." She began to relate the changes in her life that had taken place over the last few days. But, she kept the most intimate details to herself, still not willing to hurt Inuyasha. He still claimed such a large part in her heart.

By the time she had finished, they had reached Kaede's village, and it was pretty dark outside. Shippo and Kirara had run ahead of them, so that Kaede had a fire going, and some succulent dinner prepared to make the warriors feel better.

Over the soup, Miroku stated his opinion. "I think that he will come back for her, if he truly believes that she is a danger to him. If Kagome can now become truly powerful, now that she has her completed soul, then he will still not want her to be with Inuyasha. We should keep up our guard tonight. He will probably be coming soon."

Inuyasha, finally coming out of his sulking reverie, agreed with the monk. "Right. He does not give up this easily. He told me as much while we were fighting Naraku."

Kagome looked up at this. "You fought with Sesshomaru against Naraku?"

"Feh! We had to. He planned this whole meeting at the castle so that one of us would kill the other. Then he would take out the loser. As much as I want to fight him, it will be on my terms or not at all." He remained silent for a moment after that statement, thinking over how easy it was to defeat Naraku with his brother fighting by his side. "It wasn't really Naraku, anyway. It was a puppet. I was fooled by another damned puppet again. Why won't he show his face? Is he weak or something?"

Miroku choked a little on his soup. "Hardly weak if he can make such a strong puppet. I could not get through the puppet's barrier. I believe he is getting stronger, not weaker. I find it oddly reassuring that at least in the face of a common enemy, we can count on Sesshomaru as a friend."

Inuyasha snorted at that remark. "Hardly. I think the only reason he fought with me is be3cause it was in his own house. Had it been anywhere else, he probably would've turned tail and ran away. Like he usually does."

Kagome couldn't take anymore of this. It was bad enough the guilt she was feeling over the way she had behaved in Sesshomaru's castle. But, the feeling of protectiveness that stole over her when Inuyasha badmouthed his brother was about to let itself known. She got up and walked outside.

"Hey, Kagome. I don't think that this is a good idea..."

Inuyasha started to get up, but it was Sango that stood and kept the hanyou in his seat. "Oh, sit down and shut up. She has been through enough lately. Do you really think she needs to hear all this? What she needs is some peace and quiet. I'll go watch over her." And she left the room as well.

Kagome was sitting on the porch, facing the stars in the general direction of Sesshomaru's castle. Sango sat down beside her, but Kagome barely noticed her presence. She was watching the skies for Sesshomaru, willing him to come and get her. _Prove them wrong, Sesshomaru. Tell me that you were not just using me to make Inuyasha jealous enough to lose control. Please, come to me._

"Are you all right, Kagome? You have been awfully quiet upon your return here. Everyone is beginning to get worried. Did he hurt you?"

Kagome wanted so much to confide in someone, anyone. She knew she could trust Sango, she was like a sister. But, she was afraid Sango wouldn't understand. "No, he didn't hurt me. Well, not really."

Sango also looked out towards the stars, nodding. "I know there are some things that you left out of your little tale. I want you to tell me everything. It will do you some good to at least get them off of your chest."

Kagome started to tear up again. "I don't know if I can. I don't want you to hate me."

Sango turned to Kagome and smiled. "I could never hate you, Kagome. You are as dear to me as Kohaku." She sighed, deciding to let out a little revelation of her own. "Besides, I know how it is to do things that may embarrass you in other's company. I went and fell head over heels for a monk who has a notorious wandering eye. Lately, I have this urge to kiss him every time I see him, just to make sure that he feels the same way I do. But I would rather die than tell that to most people. But, I know I can tell you and you won't think less of me for it."

She smiled. She knew what Sango was trying to do, and it was working. _Maybe she can help me. It couldn't hurt. And, at least I won't be baring this secret all alone._ Deep into the night, the two girls talked heart to heart, about things that neither would ever tell another living soul.

* * *

Sesshomaru was not expecting the wind witch to kiss him, so he was completely unprepared for this new attack. He had known that Kagome was nearby, and wanted to dispose of this pest before she came in. He wanted a few moments alone with her before Inuyasha came in between them, to tell her how he felt. To really tell her how he felt about her leaving him.

But now, instead of his trying to get her to stay with him, he was trying to free himself from Kagura's grip when Kagome entered the room with the little kitsune. To all the world, it looked like a romantic tryst.

"Kagome." He had tried to talk to her, to explain the situation, but was again caught off guard by the change in her. She was different; stronger. In the present situation, he was having trouble making his wishes known, because he wanted to hold this new Kagome close to him, to make her his right now.

_She defeated Kikyou. Without help from me. And now she has full control of her powers. She doesn't need you anymore, old boy. If she wants to leave there is nothing you can to do stop her, short of fighting her. And she will defeat you, because you will not do anything to hurt her. Because you love her too much. You always have. Instead of being honest with her, you were too afraid to scare her away. And now, she thinks you would rather be with Kagura._

He was not paying very close attention to what he was saying to her, because his mind was buzzing, trying to think of something to say to make her stay. The only time he lifted his head out of this reverie was when she flew out of the room. And so fast, he didn't even see which way she went.

He was about to leap after her, but an acidic voice behind him stopped her. "Leaving so soon, Sesshomaru?" He turned to Kagura, who had regained her former composure and was standing with her fan at the ready. "And I could have sworn you enjoyed that kiss just as much as I did."

Turning about to face her, he got his poison whip at the ready. "I have had just about as much of you as I can stand. Ever. Prepare to die, witch."

She decided to play with him just a little bit longer, playing with the fire that burned in his eyes. "Ah, are we upset, Sesshomaru? I would have thought you would expect her to leave you when Inuyasha came up here. After all, she knows him better..."

"Shut your mouth, Kagura."

"She trusts him more..."

"You say too much, woman," His eyes seethed red fury.

"And, let us not forget that Inuyasha is a whole man. Whereas you are...not." She ended that little jibe with a little twittering laugh, insinuating that there was more lacking in him than just a missing arm.

That was more than he was willing to take from her. With a growl of anger, he slashed at her with his poison whip, but she easily moved out of the way. Again and again he tried to hit her, but she was just one step ahead of him. 'You forget that I am made out of the winds. I can feel your move before it comes anywhere near me."

Kagura opened her fan and sent the wind blades flying at him, slashing his robes and drawing blood from his arms and legs. He drew his blade, the Tokijin, and deflected the next attack she sent him, but it tore his room to shreds.

"I will not be defeated that easily, Sesshomaru. You had a chance to fee me, and to be with a real equal. We could have ruled the world together. But, now you have been spoiled and are no longer worth my time. So, die, Sesshomaru!" She whipped her fan around and caused a huge funnel to surround him.

The wind funnel began picking up everything around him, whipping it at such a speed that they started lashing out at him. He was cut allover, blood leaking out from his face and hands, body and feet. He drew the Tokijin up over his head, but could find no clear angle to strike. _It is too close, I cannot wield the Tokijin in here._ He looked up, but saw no way out through the top. And all the objects flying around him so fast were being whittled by the wind into deadly daggers and knifes, flying at him at top speeds. _I cannot jump through it, the objects will kill me before I get halfway through._

There had to be a way out. _I must get to Kagome. I need her, whether or not she needs me. I will not let her leave me like this._ But, she was gone. And he was now trapped in a deadly funnel that was starting to enclose on him.

Sesshomaru heard Kagura laughing at him. "How on earth do you think you can defeat me now? There is no way you will win here."

He also felt a presence in the room that set his heart beating faster. "Kagome..."

The last thing Sesshomaru saw before the blood loss caused him to blackout was a large blue shaft of fire and light, and Kagura's scream of surprise. Then it was over.

* * *

"Perhaps it would just be better if I went home. I need time to think all of this out without either of them intervening."

Sango nodded her head in agreement. "I understand what you mean, but running away is not going to solve your problems. You should know better than that by now. Inuyasha has been lost without you."

Kagome looked up at that. _I thought she was going to help make things clear. But, she just seems to want to push me into Inuyasha's arm._

"If you leave him before you have at least talked to him, before you have told him that you are truly all right... well, he did turn into his demon form when you were taken..."

"He... he did?" Sango nodded. "How did you guys calm him down?"

Sango was loath to tell her the truth. "Kikyou used her small piece of your soul to control him. She couldn't calm him completely, but gave him enough room that his conscious mind was able to regain control on its own. But..."

"But now she is gone." Kagome stood up. "I understand. Go in there and tell him that I want to talk to him. I might as well get this over with now." She walked over to the sacred tree and waited.

Sango reluctantly did as she was told. _Kagome sure is in a hurry to leave. Perhaps she really does just want to leave us all._ She went in and found Inuyasha sulking alone in a corner. "She wants to talk to you now, Inuyasha. Don't be so hard on her, Inuyasha. From what she has told me, she has been through enough already. You don't want to make her cry again, do you?"

He stood up, ready to retort to what Sango just said. _But, she's right. I have been to hard on her. Try to remember that she has been with Sesshomaru for days. She is quite frail right now._ Inuyasha walked outside and saw Kagome standing by the sacred tree, looking again up at the stars. _She looks so beautiful right now. More so than usual. And so untouchable. _"Kagome?"

She did not turn around, not sure if looking in his eyes would make her falter in her will to leave. "I want to go home."

He gasped. "But, Kagome..."

She rushed on. "I need to see my mother. I am not usually gone this long, and I bet she is terribly worried about me."

"What happened at that castle that has you up in arms?" He prodded, not wanting to even talk about her leaving him again.

"Nothing. He treated me just fine. This has nothing to do with Sesshomaru."

He lowered his head. "You are lying, Kagome. I can hear your heartbeat quickening."

"I am not lying, Inuyasha..."

"Did he hurt you?" Hi hand went to the hilt of his sword in anger. "If he touched even one hair on your head..."

"Inuyasha, stop."

"And I will hunt him down and kill him with my own two hands."

She finally turned to him. "Inuyasha, don't ask me to tell you what went on up there. It will only anger you and will do neither of us any good."

He stopped short at those words. His breath caught in his throat, and he looked up into her sad brown eyes. _It sounds almost as if... _"You're protecting him, aren't you?"

Now it was her turn to lower her head. "Please, Inuyasha. No more questions. Just let me go home and figure this all out first."

He came up to her and grabbed her arm, a little rougher than he wanted to. "No. Not until you answer my question. How has he gained such power over you that you protect him?"

Tears clouded her vision of him, but she could still see the anger welling up in his face. "He has not gained any power over me. I just don't want you to fight him over me. Why can't you understand?"

Why wouldn't I understand?" He thought for a moment. _No, it couldn't be._ "Unless, you care for him?"

Kagome said nothing. That told him more than he wanted to know. "But... But you are mine. You belong to me, Kagome."

She wrenched her arm free. "I belong to no one! I am not a piece of property to be kept or sold at will. I am a human being, with feelings." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I tried to spare you all of this, Inuyasha. Because I don't know my heart yet either. I am so confused. Just let me go home where I can think in peace."

He did not move from where he stood, his hand still out where it was holding Kagome's arm. "Do you love him?"

"Yes." She turned again to face the old tree. "And I love you. But, I don't know which one is real. I am so confused."

He came up behind her, putting his hands very gently on her shoulders and standing close behind her. "Kagome, you never told me you loved me before."

"Because I was always afraid you thought of me only as another tool to finding the jewel shards. I do have feelings for you, Inuyasha. But I also have some for your brother. Only..."

"What?"

"They are different feelings. More overwhelming and confusing."

He was afraid that she would leave him right now. "Then rest easy. Stay here tonight, and we will escort you to the well tomorrow. Just, know that whatever you decide, you are always welcome here. By everyone. Even me."

She turned in his arms and hugged him, letting a single tear flow down her cheek. "Thank you, Inuyasha. You don't know how much I need your support right now."

* * *

Coming Soon – Chapter Twenty – Bent But Not Broken

Kagome stands at the well, ready to return home, but pauses, thinking about recent events. Sesshomaru tries to get to the well in time, to tell her how he really feels about her.


	20. Bent But Not Broken

In Chapter Nineteen, Kagome returns to Kaede's village with the troupe, and relates a condensed version of her story to rapt listeners. Inuyasha and Kagome hash through some sorted feelings. Sesshomaru squares off against Kagura.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique _ad nauseum_. (Whew!)

Chapter Twenty – Bent But Not Broken

Kagome was sitting beside Sesshomaru, in the courtyard under his large oak tree, just resting in his arms. He had a small smile of contentment on his face, watching leaves fall as autumn made its presence known. "I don't think life can possibly get any better than this," she muttered as she snuggled closer.

He murmured his agreement. "I don't think I could move from this spot, even if I wanted to."

As they were talking of contentment, a gurgling yelp came from the entrance to the courtyard. Jaken ran in, being hit on the butt by a little blue arrow. "Keh, not again. Haven't we told her to leave the poor little toad alone? He is too old to keep playing like this."

Kagome sat up a little bit in his arms, but his steel grip did not let her go far. "Don't you want me to stop her?" She said with laughter clear in her voice.

'No. Let Rin. That is her duty right now. I don't feel like letting you go just yet."

Rin, in her soft pink kimono that draped over her awkward pre-teen form came running in; behind a little girl with ebony hair and a little willow bow. She couldn't have been older than three, laughing at true delight at Jaken's mumblings about the arrow.

Rin looked up at her parents and smiled. "Sorry. She got away from me again. I think she will be able to outrun even you in a couple of years, Sesshomaru-sama." She picked the little girl up and brought her over to the couple under the tree.

She laughed and wriggled as she was put into her mother's arms. "That's okay, Rin. I know how impossible it can be to keep a little girl in line. I had problems with you too, if you recall." Rin did not answer, but her hot pink blush said that she remembered the trouble she used to give Jaken. Point of fact, she still did from time to time. But, after the night he tried to save her life, she only directs her practice on a target. Picturing Kikyou's face.

Sesshomaru laughed as he tickled the little hanyou in her mother's arms until her golden eyes sparkled with mirth. "Like your mother did not have problems with you."

Kagome smiled up at him, and he looked down to see the mating mark on her neck. He bent his head to nuzzle it. She grinned and leaned her head back, letting him nuzzle a little closer. "Sesshomaru, when is Inuyasha coming back here."

He didn't even look up at that remark. "Never," he said into her neck. He had formed a grudging truce with his brother, but he still harbored ill will for what he tried to take from him.

"You know you have nothing to worry about. I only love him like a brother. Or brother-in-law."

He groaned at this and began kissing the mating mark on her neck, trying to divert her away from what he knew she was going to say next.

But, Kagome did continue, only with a little more difficulty. "Sesshomaru, I think you need to wake up now."

He groaned. His arms felt even heavier around her now, as if he truly couldn't lift them. "I do not want to ever wake up, if this is a dream."

She gave a husky little laugh. "You have to. You need to find me. Make me believe that you love me."

The weights on his arms made them slowly fall away from around her. "Do not say this. You know I love you."

She turned and looked up at him, but this time it seemed to him that she was looking a little down at him. "Wake up. Or this will never come true... I've done all I know how to do... Wake up, Sesshomaru-sama... please..."

Sesshomaru woke from a dream, still groggy with heavy sleep and lethargic from loss of blood. He tried to lift his hand to his head, but felt too weak to move it. He opened his eyes, and saw Rin by his side, putting a poultice on his arm and trying not to cry.

She didn't know that he had awoken. "Please, Sesshomaru-sama. You have to wake up. Please wake up. I don't know what else to do."

"Rin, I am awake. Stop your crying and tell me why I can barely move."

She jumped at his words, and barely resisted the impulse to hug him. "Thank goodness you are awake, Sesshomaru-sama. I was running out of ideas. Kagome had not the chance to teach me how to bring someone back when they have been so badly injured."

"How badly was I injured?"

Jaken stepped up from his resting place in the corner to faithfully answer that question. "You were bleeding from head to foot. There was barely a place that you were not torn from the wind funnel that Kagura placed on you. If we had not arrived when we did, you would have been dead for sure."

He looked incredulous at that statement. "I saw a blue arrow. I thought that Kagome..."

Rin, blushing, interrupted him. "That was my arrow, Sesshomaru-sama. I had never seen that much magic come out from my arrows before, but she told me that she tends to be more powerful when the danger is greater. Jaken and I both shot magic at that lady, to stop her from killing you."

He turned his head a little to Jaken, who was also blushing with pride. "Yes, master, you should have seen it, she looked even more powerful than that miko who was training her. You would have been very proud."

He leaned back and closed his eyes. "So. Kagura is dead."

Rin drooped her head a little, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Yes. But..."

"But what?"

Jaken intervened. "I do not think that we killed her."

Again he opened his eyes and looked at the pair of them. "What do you mean?"

The little toad stumbled over his words, afraid that Sesshomaru would get angry. Rin tried to finish the explanation. "Well, we fired at her, but I saw just before my arrow reached her, that she clutched her chest and screamed. I think she died before we hit her."

With a curt growl of frustration, Sesshomaru tried to get up. It took all the power he could muster not to scream with the pain shat shot through his body when he only managed to shift his legs a little. Every muscle cried out in pain. _What did that Kagura do to me? I cannot move._

As if reading his thoughts, Jaken managed to find his voice. "You were caught up in her wind tunnel, my Lord. She harnesses the power of the wind to turn everything in the vicinity into a weapon. Rin and I were pulling fragments of wood and jade out of your body for over an hour. You are healing fast though. No demon on earth is as powerful as my Lord Sesshomaru."

Rin tried to sound like Kagome, in an attempt to keep Sesshomaru down. "He is, but he still needs rest. He cannot heal if he does not rest."

He knew she was trying to be grown up, but he could not stand being babied, even by her. "This will not do. I must find Kagome."

"She ran home hours ago, Sesshomaru-sama. She left us. She even left her friends, and they came to get her."

This had him worried. _If she left even her friends behind then where would she be going?_ The answer came to him instantly, and he bolted upright in the bead. This caused the little poultice bandages Rin had made to slip off, and several larger wounds reopened. "I have to find her. I gave her no permission to leave."

Rin's eyes began to tear. "You cannot leave like this. You will get hurt again, Sesshomaru-sama. This is all I know how to do, and if you move, it will not work."

He was torn between trying to actually comfort Rin, or do what his instincts told him and drag Kagome back here. _I should have made her mine long ago, when she first submitted to me. Before she could have protested. Then I would be within my rights to drag her back. Now, she will run to my damned brother, Inuyasha, for help. And he will be all too glad to let her. He relishes the power he has over her, because she feels tied to him. Because she loved him in another body, does not mean she must love him now._ Again he tried to get up, but his body would not let him go any further. With a grimace and a low groan, he let Rin lower him back down to the bed. _That bitch is keeping me from Kagome tonight. She had better be dead. This is the only night I will lay low. Don't go, Kagome. Wait for me._

Rin sensed his surrender and began to reapply the bandages. He put a hand on her arm, growing tired of the less than fresh smell of the poultice. "I think a nice bouquet of pink flowers will do me better than this poultice, Rin."

With only a smile, she was off like a shot. Jaken stayed behind with his master, but one look from Lord Sesshomaru and he was calling after her. "Wait, Rin! You do not know which one the Master prefers..."

* * *

"Kagome?" Shippo softly called to her as he nudged her shoulder. He was sent by Sango to wake her up. Inuyasha was so upset by her leaving that he did not want to wake her up at all.

"If she wants to sleep so bad, just let her sleep," he had said. _I hate to do it, but I agree with Inuyasha. I don't want her to go. This is the first time I have actually been scared that she will decide never to come back._

But, he tried again to wake her. "Kagome, wake up." _She sure is sleepy. No doubt the last few days have been real hard on her._

"I'm awake Shippo. Tell Inuyasha that I will be out in a minute." She rolled over, facing away from him, and stayed there. She didn't want him to see her get up. Because, then Shippo would see the tears in her eyes and start trying to make her stay again.

_I don't want to go, either. But I don't know where I belong. Now that I am back here, I don't know if the gang would understand and let me stay with Sesshomaru. I don't even know if he would let me stay with him. He would probably prefer Kagura, with her powers she would be a great addition to his arsenal._

_Shippo had finally left and she had got up in a huff. Oh! I bet he just thinks of me as another weapon that he could wield in battle, just like he accused Inuyasha of doing. Just like he wants to do with Rin. _The thought of Rin stopped her mental bashing of him for a moment._ Rin. I don't care what he tells me, I know that he cares for her. He would not use her for a weapon. He wants her to be able to take care of herself._

_Kagome went through the motions of getting dressed, in her old school uniform again, and putting her things away in her bag. She reached for her ivory brush that she had used while she was at Sesshomaru's castle. That's right; it isn't mine. None of it was. Not even that green kimono I wore yesterday is mine, really._ She started to unpack it, but couldn't bring herself to pull it out of her pack. It reminded her too much of what she was losing. _It was too much like a family. A weird one, true. But a family. He cannot be as bad as what I seem to want to make him out to be. But... then why would he be kissing Kagura if he wanted me to stay? Maybe he did not expect me to be jealous?_

She laughed at that thought. "Keh! If he did not want me to be jealous, then he would not have brought me there in the first place. He doesn't know me very well if he thinks I won't get jealous when someone tries to steal my..." She was caught up short by her words._ I was about to say boyfriend. I wanted to be with him so badly that I was ready to kill Kagura. Just because she had kissed Sesshomaru. And I wanted to make him feel as bad as he made me feel by kissing her. I wanted to make him feel... anything. Sometimes I get the impression that he is just as caring as his brother is, and other times I know that he tries to deny that he feels anything at all._

"Kagome, are you all right?" Sango poked her head in the door.

"Coming. Just wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything."

"You don't have to worry about that. I mean, you are coming back. Aren't you?"

_I don't know if I can take seeing either one of them right now._ "Of course I am. But... never mind. Let's go." She left the hut and the gang began the short journey to the well.

_If he had just come for me. If he had told me he wanted me to stay..._

* * *

Everyone walked to the well in almost complete silence, as if speaking would make things worse. Sango and Miroku walked side by side, Shippo was riding on Kirara's back. Even Kaede had come along, for she too feared this time that Kagome would not come back. Inuyasha was the only one who was not sad. He looked downright mad, throwing hateful looks at Kagome every once in a while, when he thought no one was watching.

_Why did everyone have to come along? They are making it look like we are sending Kagome to her death._ Inuyasha gave a little snort at that, which made Shippo's ears perk up. _Probably because they know that Sesshomaru might come and steal her away again. Like I need their help against my own brother._

_But what if she wants him to come for her? She has been acting kind of strange, she pretty much begged me last night to let her leave. As if I could stop her. What is she runnin' away from? Doesn't she know I'll protect her, like I always do? Is she that afraid of him?_

Inuyasha was at a loss. He knew that Sesshomaru stole her from him because he saw her as a threat. _But, he sure wasn't acting like she meant nothing more than that yesterday, while we were fighting Naraku. Naraku knew something about them that I didn't. Because, the moment he mentioned her name, Sesshomaru swore at him. I had never seen or heard him do anything like that before. Almost as if... as if he were protective of her. Like I am._

_Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks, causing Miroku to stop short and jerk Sango back to stop her from running into the hanyou. He cares for her too! How long has this been going on?_

"Uh, Inuyasha? Is there some reason why we are stopped in the middle of the road like this?" Miroku said, with a little smirk on his face. This he didn't mind so much, because it gave him an excuse to pull Sango close to his side.

Inuyasha looked around; all eyes were staring back at him. "Huh? Oh, nothing. I just thought I heard something, that's all. Let's keep going." He watched as Kagome perked up a little, looking around.

_I bet she's looking for him. She wants him to come for her. Why does she feel this way about him? She said that she loved me, and that she loved him. But, she can't love us both!_

It was these thoughts that had Inuyasha steamed by the time they had gotten to the well. When Kagome just stood there, looking down into the dank, dirty well, he prodded her. "Well, Kagome? Go home."

She turned to look at him. "You in such a hurry to be rid of me, then?"

He braced his legs and balled his fists. "What do you mean, I want to be rid of you? Ever since you came back yesterday you said that you wanted to go home. There's the well, now go home. Nothing is stopping you."

Kaede intervened, sensing that emotions were already running too high. "Inuyasha. Do not be in such a hurry for her to go. We want to say goodbye."

"What's the point? Just leave, Kagome. Go." He came nearer to her, and she felt that he was threatening to push her in. He had done it before.

"Go! 'Cause you know what? You aren't the same since you left with him. Before you left, you had a mind of you own. You told people what you wanted. You didn't let people push you around. Now, all you do is cry that you don't know what to do."

Shippo jumped onto Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha! What are you doing?"

But, he just shoved the kitsune off his shoulder and kept going. "You know what I think? I think he broke you."

"What are you talking about?" Kagome was confused with the way Inuyasha was acting. It wasn't like him to act this way.

"You are broken! You don't want to do anything for yourself anymore, Kagome. Sesshomaru won't want you anymore. A broken weapon is worthless to him!"

"I am not broken!" She took a deep, shuddering breath, trying not to cry in front of him. "I am just... confused. I don't know what to do; where to go. I don't want to hurt you, Inuyasha."

"Feh! Don't worry about me. I don't need anybody. If you go; go. I don't care."

She looked at him, hurt evident in both their eyes. "Yes, you do," She said, barely above a whisper. She knew what he was doing, and it proved that he cared. Despite the hurt he was probably feeling over her confession last night, he wasn't going to do anything to try and make her stay if she didn't want to.

"Well... what matters is what you want. The rest of us will deal with whatever you decide."

Kagome was openly crying now. She started pacing the ground in front of the well, heedless to the panicked looks Shippo and Kaede were giving her. To them, it looked a little like she had gone off the deep end. "What I want, what I want. How am I to know what I want? I go through life thinking that I am in love with you. Then, the first sign of separation and I throw myself into someone else's arms."

Sango looked at Inuyasha when Kagome said that. She had sworn last night not to tell anyone about the romantic side of her stay at the castle, but had wanted to tell Inuyasha how Kagome really felt about his brother. _Give him a little warning. It was not hidden from anyone, how much he cares for her._ But, she never expected Kagome to just blurt it out like that, in front of everyone. Even Miroku was surprised.

"Yeah, that's right. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. Again. And again. And stupid me, I fell in love with him, the selfish jerk!" She hit her forehead, and stopped scanning the tree line looking for any sign of Sesshomaru. "Just when I begin to think that he feels something for me – anything! – I see him in the arms of someone else. So what am I to think?

"What do I want? I want to go home, where I can think without having to worry about stepping on someone else's feelings. Where whoever I am with won't be influencing my decisions." She turned and looked straight into Inuyasha's confused golden eyes. "Inuyasha, when I am here with you, all I can think about is how my decision will affect you; how it will hurt you. But, when I was with him, all I could think about was how it felt to be near him. How much I wanted him to feel the same. But he doesn't. And I don't know how I am supposed to feel about that. And here you are, acting like a big baby, and the only thing I can think about is how much you two are alike. You both have to have all or nothing. I don't know what to do."

Suddenly, there was a movement from behind the group. Everyone turned and saw Sesshomaru. He was standing proud and tall, like he always had, but Kagome saw something deeper in his eyes. He looked hurt, and very tired. "Then go home. Think about all that troubles you."

He walked through the small crowd to stand directly in front of Kagome. Extending out a clawed finger, he gently raised her chin to look up, seeing only him. "And then, come back to me." He motioned his head towards his brother, who was standing in complete shock that Sesshomaru had come, only to let her go. "His pride will mend, whatever you choose. And my heart..." He stopped for a moment, thinking about how lonely his life would be without her spirit in it. _Could I bear to be without her, now that I am sure that she is the one I want? That doesn't matter. This is her decision. I cannot force her. If I do, she may never forgive me._ "It will mend as well. But this is your life. Be certain that whom you choose will make you happy."

Sesshomaru lowered his head and placed a feather light kiss on her forehead. When she looked up again, she felt like running into his arms and screaming for him not to let her go. She wanted him to take the decision out of her hands, so she wouldn't have any guilt about leaving Inuyasha. But, she knew he wouldn't. Without another word to anyone, she leaned back and fell through the well.

* * *

Inuyasha woke up early that morning, feeling a presence in the air that he had grown tired of. "Not again, dammit." He got up quickly and ran to the well. Kagome wasn't there, _of course. Why would she be back so soon? I would be surprised if she came back before the next new moon._ That was two weeks away. He sniffed the air, finding what he had hoped had been the remnants of a bad dream. "It's only been three days, Sesshomaru. Go home."

He looked up to see his brother, reclining high in the tree closest to the well. Sesshomaru had a bird's eye view of the well, and would know the moment she had materialized within it. Sesshomaru looked down at his brother, trying to suppress a growl. "You have grown very fond of that expression, brother. Why not try it out yourself."

Inuyasha jumped into a tree next to his brother, where he could look eye to eye with him. "You are all talk lately, Sesshomaru. What is wrong with you? You come this close to me; you have to expect a fight. But, you haven't even brought your sword."

Sesshomaru contemplated ignoring him altogether. But, he knew that would be a feat he still was not up to doing. "I promised her I would not harm any of her friends."

"Feh! Like you could lay a hand on me." But his brother was not falling for his bait. All his pent up frustration over wondering what she will do was going to waste on his brother. "Why don't you just kill me and take the responsibility off of her shoulders? Or maybe I should do that for her."

"I will not dignify your question with a response. You are merely trying to pick a fight with me."

"How do you feel about her?"

Sesshomaru looked Inuyasha in the eye. "I love her. I want her to be my mate."

"Feh. You do not."

He riled at this. "Do you think I lie to you? You are beneath my notice, but I speak the truth to you." He took a calming breath and returned his stare to the well.

"Why am I beneath your notice? Because I am a half breed?" When his brother didn't respond, he was spurred on. "Well, she is human. Completely human. And if you do mate with her, any child she has will be a half breed. Just... like... me." _Take that._

"I know."

When Sesshomaru still did nothing but look down into the well, Inuyasha jumped over to another branch, right beside his brother. "Then why am I beneath you? Tell me the truth, oh great lord." He gestured his hands in a wild imitation of Jaken.

Sesshomaru sat up and growled at his brother. "Do you want to know Inuyasha?" His brother nodded, smiling with his teeth bared. "Because of our father. When he mated with your mother, he forgot everything else in life. His world revolved around your mother; around you. When he needed our help to defeat his mortal enemy, I was there, right by his side. And you weren't. But, that wasn't enough for him. He lost and died that day, but as he lay dying, all his thoughts were on you. His last words were for you. He had none for me. Even after death, he gave you the mightiest sword, the Tetsusaiga. I am surprised he left me anything at all."

He jumped down to the ground and walked over to the well, looking deep into it. Inuyasha came up behind him, not believing what he was hearing. "I decided then and there that I was going to prove that I was better than you. He may have not spared me another thought, but I was not going to save any of mine for you. I am a full demon, and ruler of the western lands. Who are you? You are nobody.

"But, when Kagome came out of the well the first day, you had to be the first one she found, pinned to that tree. You knew she was Kikyou's reincarnation as well as I did; so you kept her for yourself."

He turned to face his brother at that point, bringing their glares nose to nose. "But, I saw her first, and she is mine. You had your chance, and lost it. This is my turn. I even took Rin in because she reminded me so much of Kagome, but I love only her. And I don't want you or any of her friends standing in her way when she comes back to me."

Inuyasha laughed, right into his brother's face. "And what if she chooses me?"

This time, Sesshomaru lost control. He grabbed his brother by the shirt at his throat. "Then I will convince her the error of her ways. But, if she chooses me, you will not touch her. Understand?"

"Hey! That's not fair."

He let Inuyasha go, standing back and eyeing him suspiciously. "You certainly seem less than worried. What if she chooses to leave you?"

"Don't worry about me. I don't care if she leaves or not." Even Inuyasha didn't believe those words, so he said softly, "As long as she's happy."

Before they could say any more, they heard a noise in the well. Kagome had indeed returned. Both brothers jumped back, a little surprised. _She has impeccable timing._

As she emerged, she saw two pairs of golden eyes staring intently back at her. "Well, this is a greeting I certainly didn't expect. Why aren't you two killing each other like you usually do?" She was trying to make light the tense moment.

Sesshomaru reached out a hand to pull her out of the well. "Because there are more important matters at stake than who is the better fighter." Everyone also noticed that he did not release it when she stood outside the well.

Inuyasha should have agreed, but instead muttered under his breath, "I am," which got him a withering look from both his brother and Kagome. "What have you decided?"

"Can't you even say hello to me first?"

"Hello. What have you decided?"

"I want to go to the hut first."

Inuyasha was getting frustrated with her hawing. "No. What have you decided?"

She sighed and sat down on the lip of the well. _I had wanted to wait until I could get him alone to tell him this, but I guess now is as good a time as any._ "I am going to stay here."

Sesshomaru pulled his hand away from her as if he had been burned. _She chose him over me? Why does everyone prefer this bloated puppy to me? What power does he possess that I do not?_ "Why?" Was all he said out loud.

"Sesshomaru, it isn't what you think. I made a promise; to everyone. We still need to find the jewel shards, and I am the only one who can see them. I need to stay with them until then. It is the only way."

He wasn't listening. He couldn't hear anything through the rushing sound in his ears. He had been sure that she would choose to stay with him. He loved her._ Didn't she know that? Everyone else seemed to be able to sense that, why couldn't she? I can't go back to that castle without her. It is too lonely there. Rin keeps bothering me to bring her back, and Jaken is impossible without her around._

Inuyasha waived a hand in front of Sesshomaru's face, as if he were suddenly blind. "Did you not hear anything she just said, stupid?"

Sesshomaru raised his hand to strike, but Kagome leaped in between them, looking at him as if he had gone mad. Inuyasha just laughed. "He didn't even hear you say it, Kagome. Go on, tell him again."

She looked at Inuyasha as if she wanted to hit him herself. "I will not say it again. If he didn't hear it, then it is obvious he didn't want to hear it. I will not stoop so low."

As Kagome walked away, Inuyasha looked at his brother and said, "Now, who does that sound like, I wonder?" When Sesshomaru said nothing, Inuyasha sighed. "Go after her, stupid."

Kagome did not get far alone before Sesshomaru descended upon her, snatching her close to his chest. "Tell me again what you said, miko."

"No," she said, snuggling close to his chest. _Let him feel a little of what I have been feeling these past few days without you._

He rested his chin on her head, tired from his vigil by the well. "Please."

"No." But, this time, it was much softer and almost a sigh.

He knew just what to say then. "Kagome..."

She looked up at him. "I said that when I finish collecting the jewel shards, I want to go with you. I love you, Sesshomaru. But I made a promise to retrieve the shards, because it was me who broke them. Mother told me to put honor before love, and get my responsibilities out of the way. That way, nothing stands between us."

His heart hurt so bad he felt like crying. "You could stay with me. I will help you look for them."

"But if I stay with you, I will never bother looking for them. This way, I will find them quicker."

He squeezed her tighter to him, trying to express his relief that she loved him and would rather be with him. "Then, I will help you find them."

She laughed at that thought. "You will not. You and Inuyasha would kill each other. It would never work."

He leaned down and kissed her smiling lips. "I would endure anything, love, if it would bring me closer to having you all to myself." And he kissed her again. When they both had to breathe again, he continued. "I want you to be my mate."

She laughed at that. "Did you think I would stay with you without marrying you? But, not until after we find all the..."

"You try my patience, miko."

She pulled his face back down to hers, breathing these words onto his lips a moment before kissing them, "I haven't even begun to, Sesshomaru."

* * *

This is the final chapter of _Bent but Not Broken_. I hope you like the end to this little story. I sure had an eye-opening experience writing it. And, I know. People have emailed me that Kagome is off character, but... there is a reason this is called fanfiction. I tried to write in the style of the manga, but it kept changing. After a while, I decided to just let it go and simply follow. If you beg me enough, I have a great idea in mind for a sequel. Until then...

Coming Soon – A New Story – A Forest Full of Souls

The tutor hired to teach Kagome begins to have dreams of playing in a lush forest, but then her dreams turn into reality. And to make matters worse, she is thought to be the head of a wolf tribe that once ruled the Southern Lands.


	21. Sequel Preview

For those of you that have been waiting for the sequel to this popular story, have no fear. There is a sequel that is coming in the beginning of November. I have titled it "Every Heart," after my favorite Inuyasha song. I decided to put it as a story on its own because I think that this story is great as is. Here is a preview of the story:

--- Kagome allows Sesshomaru to come along on their quest to find the remaining jewel shards.

--- Miroku somehow manages to convince Sango that she should 'rehabilitate' him.

--- Shippo steps up as leader of his Fox Clan, and takes the responsibility of Rin as his ward.

--- Myouga must give up something very dear to him to unlock the key to Naraku.

--- Inuyasha finally finds a friend in a most unexpected place.

--- The group musters up every ally they can find in a free-for-all against Naraku and his minions.

--- There are seven – count 'em – SEVEN pairings in this sequel.

--- There are also 9 allies joining the core cast.

--- That is, of course, because there are about 7 baddies after them.

I have to say, this is my most ambitious story ever. I hope you guys are eagerly awaiting the return of this story, because I sure am having fun putting it all together. Of course, in the mean time, there is my other story; "Forest Full of Souls" to tide you over...

Scifugitive 


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